Compliments  of 


FREDERICK  HOWARD  WELLS 
FRANK  RICHARDSON  WELLS 
BERTHA  WELLS  JACKSON 


Burlington,    Vermont 


BRONZE  STATUE  OF 
BRIGADIER  AND  BREVET  MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS  U.  S.  VOLUNTEERS 


DEDICATION 
OF  THE  STATUE  TO 

BREVET  MAJOR-GENERAL 
WILLIAM  WELLS 

AND  THE  OFFICERS  AND  MEN  OF  THE 
FIRST  REGIMENT  VERMONT  CAVALRY 


ON  THE  BATTLEFIELD  OF  GETTYSBURG 
JULY  3,  1913 


PRIVATELY  PRINTED 
1914 


' 


IN  AFFECTIONATE  MEMORY 

OF 

MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 
HIS  FAMILY 

AND 
HIS  COMRADES  IN  ARMS 


PREFACE 

THE  compiling  of  the  following  pages  has  been  a 
labor  of  love. 
The  unveiling  and  dedication  on  the  battlefield 
of  Gettysburg,  July  3,  1913,  of  the  memorial  erected 
in  honor  of  Major-General  Wells  and  officers  and  men 
of  the  First  Vermont  Cavalry,  on  Confederate  Avenue, 
in  front  of  Round  Top,  was  an  occasion  never  to  be 
forgotten  by  all  who  were  present,  men  of  the  North, 
and  men  of  the  South.  This  charge  of  the  First  Ver 
mont  Cavalry  was  so  swallowed  up  in  the  multitudinous 
incidents  of  the  great  battle  that  few  have  followed  it 
as  it  deserves.  I  am  proud  to  say  that  Vermont, 
however,  remembers  well  her  gallant  sons  in  this 
soul-stirring  feat  and  that  by  a  happy  thought  the 
Legislature  of  the  State  made  an  appropriation  for  a 
monument  to  be  erected  near  the  spot  from  which 
the  regiment  started  upon  its  memorable  charge. 


Burlington,  Vermont 
October  13,  1913 


An  Act  to  Provide  for  Procuring  and  Erecting  on  the 
Battlefield  of  Gettysburg  a  Monument  to  General 
William  Wells  and  the  Offi.cers  and  the  Enlisted  Men 
of  the  First  Regiment,  Vermont  Cavalry. 

It  is  hereby  enacted  by  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
State  of  Vermont: 

Section  1.  The  sum  of  six  thousand  dollars,  or  so 
much  thereof  as  may  be  necessary,  is  hereby  appro 
priated  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  a  monument  on  the 
battlefield  of  Gettysburg  and  for  suitably  preparing 
the  ground  and  foundation  therefor,  commemorating 
the  services  and  perpetuating  the  memory  of  General 
William  Wells  and  the  officers  and  enlisted  men  of  the 
First  Regiment,  Vermont  Cavalry. 

Section   2.     The  governor  shall,   on  or  before  the 
first  day  of  January,  1913,  appoint  five  commissioners 
to  carry  out  the  provisions  of  this  act,  and  the  auditor 
of  accounts  is  hereby  directed  to  draw  his  order  for 
the  sum  of  six  thousand  dollars,  or  any  part  thereof  as 
the  work  progresses,  in  favor  of  such  commissioners 
whenever  they  shall  make  requisition  for  the  same. 
Section  3.    This  act  shall  take  effect  from  its  passage. 
CHARLES  A.  PLUMLEY, 

Speaker  of  the  House  of 

Representatives. 
FRANK  E.  HOWE, 

President  of  the  Senate. 
Approved  December  20,  1912. 
ALLEN  M.  FLETCHER, 

Governor. 


• 


SEYMOUR  H.  WOOD  GEORGE  L.  MCBRIDE 

BARNEY  DECKER,  Chairman 
JOHN  E.  MCCLELLAN  HENRY  O.  WHEELER 


His  EXCELLENCY,  ALLEN  M.  FLETCHER,  GOVERNOR 
OF  VERMONT,  APPOINTED  THE  FOLLOWING  COM 
MISSIONERS: 

BARNEY  DECKER,  Chairman 

SEYMOUR  H.  WOOD 
GEORGE  L.  McBRiDE 
HENRY  O.  WHEELER 
JOHN  E.  MCCLELLAN 


MEETINGS  OF  THE  COMMISSIONERS 

THE  Commissioners   held  their  first  meeting  in 
Burlington,  Vermont,  December  21,  1913,  Mr. 
Barney  Decker,  Chairman,  being  the  only  mem 
ber  of  the  Commission  absent.     General  Theodore  S. 
Peck   and    General   Lee    S.    Tillotson,    the   Adjutant- 
General,  were  also  present,  General  Peck  being  made 
Secretary  of  the  Commission  and  General  Tillotson  its 
Treasurer. 

In  view  of  the  limited  time  before  the  monument 
must  be  in  position,  July  1,  1913,  and  the  high  recom- 


GENERAL  LEE   S.  TILLOTSON 
Treasurer 


GENERAL  THEODORE  S.  PECK 
Secretary 


mendation  which  had  been  accorded  the  Van  Amringe 
Granite  Company,  of  Boston,  Massachusetts,  it  was 

5 


IN  AFFECTIONATE  MEMORY  OF 

decided  to  request  them  to  have  a  representative 
present  at  the  next  meeting  of  the  Commission. 

The  Commissioners  held  their  second  meeting  in 
Burlington,  on  January  6,  1913,  all  the  Commissioners 
being  present,  also  the  Treasurer  and  Secretary.  By 
special  invitation  Chaplain  John  E.  Goodrich  of  the 
Regiment  was  invited,  as  well  as  the  members  of  the 
Wells  family,  which  included  Charles  Wells,  Frederick 
Howard  Wells,  the  two  surviving  brothers  of  General 
Wells;  the  General's  son  and  daughter,  Frank  R.  Wells 
and  Mrs.  Bertha  R.  Wells  Jackson;  her  husband,  Dr. 
H.  Nelson  Jackson,  and  George  M.  Besett,  Managing 
Director,  Wells  &  Richardson  Company.  The  Com 
missioners  regretted  very  much  that  General  Wells' 
sister,  Mrs.  Sarah  Carpenter  Wells  Brock,  and  her 
husband,  the  Honorable  James  W.  Brock,  on  account 
of  sickness,  were  unable  to  be  present.  Mr.  Van 
Amringe,  President  of  the  Van  Amringe  Granite  Com 
pany,  was  also  present. 

The  Secretary,  General  Peck,  reported  to  the  Com 
mission  that  a  delegation  had  been  appointed  by  the 
First  Vermont  Cavalry  Association  in  the  fall  of  1910 
to  go  to  Gettysburg  and  confer  with  the  Gettysburg 
National  Military  Park  Commission  about  the  loca 
tion  of  the  site  for  the  monument,  and  that  on  Octo 
ber  30,  1910,  this  site  had  been  granted  by  the  War 
Department.1 


aWhile  at  Gettysburg  Colonel  Nicholson,  Chairman  of  the  Commission, 
assured  the  Vermonters  that  when  the  monument  was  in  position  a  vista 
would  be  cut  from  that  point  to  the  granite  monument  of  the  First  Regi 
ment  Vermont  Cavalry  erected  by  the  State  in  1889,  a  distance  of  some  one 
thousand  yards. 

6 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

Commissioner  McBride  stated  that  he  was  author 
ized  to  inform  the  Commission  that  the  sum  of  two 
thousand  dollars  had  been  added  to  the  State's  appro 
priation  by  members  of  the  Regiment.  Mr.  Van 
Amringe  brought  with  him  several  photographs  of 
work  which  his  house  had  done  and  said  that  within 
the  time  given  he  could  finish  a  monument  which 
would  be  in  every  way  worthy  of  what  it  commemo 
rated  and  meet  the  approval  of  all  interested.  He  also 
stated  that  while  at  Gettysburg,  several  years  ago,  he 
had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  General  Wells  with  Dr. 
Edson.  They  went  over  the  field  with  him  and  also 
gave  him  a  description  of  the  charge,  and  for  this 
reason  it  would  be  especially  pleasing  to  him  to  do 
the  work.  Colonel  John  P.  Nicholson,  Chairman  of 
the  Gettysburg  National  Military  Park  Commission, 
declared  Mr.  Van  Amringe,  was  particularly  interested 
in  this  monument;  indeed,  during  all  his  intercourse 
with  him  for  over  thirty  years  he  had  never  known 
him  to  showT  so  much  interest  in  any  statue  except  that 
of  his  own  father. 

Mr.  Van  Amringe  agreed  that  his  firm  would  furnish 
a  bond  to  have  the  work  completed  by  July  1,  1913, 
and  the  contract  was  accordingly  drawn  up  and  the 
bond  executed. 

The  Commission  then  took  up  the  details  of  the 
work  and  endeavored  in  every  way  possible  to  furnish 
the  contractors  with  material  and  information  to 
enable  them  to  erect  the  finest  memorial  possible  of 
the  charge  of  the  afternoon  of  July  3,  1863. 


ANNUAL  REPORTS.  WAR  DEPARTMENT 

FISCAL  YEAR  ENDED  JUNE  30.  1911 


REPORT  OF  THE 


GETTYSBURG  NATIONAL 

MILITARY  PARK 

COMMISSION 


191 


WASHINGTON 
GOVERNMENT  PRINTING  OFFICE 

1911 


O    m  T.    MAJ.    GEN'.     WILLIAM    WELLS 

A  committee  of  the  First  Vermont  Cavalry  came  from  Vermont  to 
select  a  site  for  a  statue  to  Bvt.  Maj.  Gen.  William  Wells,  'colonel  of 
First  Vermont  Cavalry,  and  on  October  30,  1910,  accompanied  by  the 
commission  visited  the  battle  field  in  the  vicinity  of  the  operations  of  that 
regiment  in  its  desperate  charge  through  the  lines  of  the  Confederate 
Army  on  July  3,  1863. 

After  carefully  considering  several  appropriate  sites,  the  committee 
unanimously  agreed  on  a  location  on  section  7,  at  a  bowlder  on  the  south 
side  of  the  avenue,  270  feet -west  of  the  bridge  over  Plum  Run,  and  a  map 
of  the  position  has  been  made  showing  the  site  selected  and  the  field  of 
operations  in  the  charge. 


FORTY-FIRST  ANNUAL  MEETING  OF 
THE  VERMONT  CAVALRY  REUNION  SOCIETY 

The  forty-first  annual  meeting  of  the  survivors  of  the  First 
Regiment  Vermont  Cavalry  will  be  held  on  the  battlefield  of 
Gettysburg,  Pennsylvania,  in  connection  with  the  semi-centennial 
celebration  of  that  battle. 

All  Vermont  cavalrymen,  in  whatever  State  they  may  now 
reside,  are  earnestly  invited  to  be  present. 

Business  meeting  will  be  held  in  the  "great  tent"  on  Wednesday, 
July  2,  at  10  o'clock,  A.  M.  (If  it  becomes  necessary  to  change 
the  hour  of  holding  the  meeting,  due  notice  of  such  change  will 
be  posted  at  the  headquarters  of  the  Vermont  contingent.) 

Comrades  will  report  at  Vermont  headquarters  immediately  on 
arrival  at  Gettysburg,  register  and  procure  badges  furnished  ex 
pressly  for  this  celebration. 

Services  of  unveiling  and  dedication  of  the  Memorial  in  honor 
of  General  William  WTells  and  officers  and  men  of  the  First  Vermont 
Cavalry  will  be  held  at  3:30  o'clock,  p.  M.,  July  3,  1913,  near 
the  spot  where  the  second  battalion  crossed  Plum  Run  on  the 
charge  of  July  3,  1863.  These  services  will  be  of  unusual  interest 
and  it  is  expected  and  hoped  that  all  survivors  of  the  regiment 
who  are  physically  able  will  be  present. 

Owing  to  advance  in  price  by  the  manufacturers,  the  society 
badges  will,  in  future,  be  two  dollars  and  fifty  cents  each;  this 
price  wrill  include  membership  fee. 

DEATHS.  Families  of  deceased  members  who  receive  this 
notice  are  requested  to  notify  the  secretary  of  the  date  of  such 
decease. 

MYRON  M.  PARKER,  President, 
1418  F  Street,  N.  W.,  Washington,  D.  C. 

H.  O.  WHEELER,  Treasurer, 

Burlington,  Vermont. 

S.  H.  WOOD,  Secretary, 

Saint  Albans,  Vermont. 

Saint  Albans,  Vermont,  June  2,  1913. 

10 


BURLINGTON,      VT.,     JUNE      5.      1913. 
BY      DIRECTION      OF       HIS      EXCELLENCY,      ALLEN      M. 

FLETCHER,  GOVERNOR  OF  VERMONT,  THE  COMMISSION 
ERS  APPOINTED  BY  HIM  TO  HAVE  CHARGE  OF  THE 
ERECTION  OF  A  MONUMENT  ON  THE  BATTLEFIELD  OF 
GETTYSBURG  IN  HONOR  OF  THE  OFFICERS  AND  MEN 
OF  THE  FIRST  REGIMENT  VERMONT  CAVALRY  AND 
THEIR  DISTINGUISHED  COMMANDER,  MAJOR  GENERAL 
WILLIAM  WELLS,  RESPECTFULLY  INVITE  YOU  TO  BE 

PRESENT  AT  THE  DEDICATORY  EX  E  R  C  I  S  ES  ,  W  H  I  C  H  WILL 
TAKE  PLACE  ON  THAT  HISTORIC  FIELD  AT  3.3O 
O'CLOCK  ON  THE  AFTERNOON  OF  JULY  3,  1913,  THIS 
BEING  THE  FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY  OF  THAT  TERRIFIC 
CHARGE  NEAR  ROUND  TOP  IN  WHICH  SO  MANY  OF 
THE  MEMBERS  OF  THIS  REGIMENT  "PAID  TO  THE  NA 
TION  THE  UTTERMOST  TRIBUTE  OF  DEVOTION." 

THE  EXERCISES  WILL  BE  IN  CHARGE  OF  THE 
VERMONT  CAVALRY  ASSOCIATION.  OF  WHICH  COLONEL 
MYRON  M.  PARKER  OF  WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  is  PRESI 
DENT. 

WE      WOULD     APPRECIATE      THE       FAVOR      OF     AN 

EARLY      REPLY. 

VERY    SINCERELY. 

BARNEY    DECKER,  CHAIRMAN") 

SEYMOUR    H.    WOOD  ) 

GEORGE    MCBRIDE  ^COMMISSIONERS 

HENRY    O.    WHEELER 

JOHN      E.      McCLELLAN 


SECRETARY. 


CHARLES  WELLS 
Brother  of  General  William  Wells 


CHARLES  WELLS 

IN  January,  1863,  when  a  boy  of  eighteen,  Charles 
Wells  left  Waterbury,  Vermont,  to  join  his  brother, 
Major  William  Wells,  at  the  front,  and  in  that  same 
month  joined  the  First  Vermont  Cavalry  at  Eort  Scott, 
Virginia.  He  remained  with  the  command  some  eight 
months,  and  was  present  with  Major  WTells  in  the 
Gettysburg  campaign.  In  August,  1863,  he  left  the 
regiment  and  returned  home.  Later  he  removed  to 
Wawpun,  Wisconsin,  where  he  enlisted  as  a  private  in 
Company  B,  Forty-first  Wisconsin  Infantry,  and  went 
to  Memphis,  Tennessee,  the  regiment  forming  a  part 
of  the  Sixteenth  Army  Corps,  Major-General  A.  J. 
Smith  commanding.  At  Memphis  he  was  in  action 
against  the  raid  of  Confederate  General  Forrest.  He 
was  mustered  out  with  his  regiment  in  September, 
1864. 

It  was  a  source  of  deep  regret  to  the  members  of  the 
First  Vermont  Cavalry  Regimental  Association  that 
Comrade  Wells  could  not  be  with  them  at  the  dedica 
tory  exercises,  especially  as  he  was  one  of  the  party 
who  selected  the  site  for  the  monument,  and  it  was 
their  wish  to  have  him  assist  the  other  members  of  the 
family  in  unveiling  the  statue  of  General  Wells,  but, 
owing  to  the  condition  of  his  health,  his  physician 
considered  it  too  great  an  undertaking.  He  was  by 
no  means  forgotten,  however,  and  was  often  spoken  of 
most  lovingly  by  his  many  friends  and  comrades. 


13 


It  was  expected  that  Honorable  James  W.  Brock, 
with  Mrs.  Brock,  would  be  present  at  the  unveiling  ex 
ercises,  but  illness  prevented,  much  to  the  regret  of 
their  many  friends  in  the  regiment. 

The  Vermont  Cavalrymen  remember  with  great 
pleasure  Mr.  Brock's  desire  that  the  battlefield  of  Get 
tysburg  should  have  a  fitting  memorial  in  honor  of 
their  desperate  charge  on  the  afternoon  of  July  3,  1863, 
and  his  efficient  services  toward  securing  the  monu 
ment. 


MRS.  SARAH  CARPENTER  WELLS  BROCK 
Sister  of  General  Wells 


HONORABLE  JAMES  W.  BROCK 


V 


SURGEON-MAJOR  P.  O'M.  EDSON 


7, 


HONORABLE  GEORGE  F.  EDMUNDS 
United  States  Senator  from  Vermont.     Elected  1866.     Resigned  1891 


841  South  Orange  Grove  Avenue, 
Pasadena,  California,    June  14,  1913. 

Dear  Sir: 

I  have  received  your  kind  invitation  to  Mrs.  Edmunds, 
our  daughter  and  eyself  to  attend  the  Dedicatory  Exercises  at  Gettys 
burg  in  honor  of  the  late  Jifajor  General  Hilliam  Wells. 

We  all  greatly  regret  that  it  is  impossible  for  any  of  us  to  be 
present.  General  Wells  was  a  great  soldier  and  deserves  the  proposed 
honor  to  his  memory. 

I  am,  in  haste. 

Very  truly  yours, 


General  T.  S.  Peck, 

Secretsrv  *c. 

Burlington,  Vermont. 


CHAPLAIN  JOHN  E.  GOODRICH 
First  Vermont  Cavalry 

The  Commission  is  under  great  obligations  to  our  Chaplain,  John  E.  Goodrich,  for 
the  valuable  aid  rendered  them  in  their  work,  particularly  in  the  tablet  inscriptions, 
which  have  been  pronounced  as  among  the  very  finest  at  Gettysburg. 


MAJOR-GENERAL  JAMES  H.  WILSON,  U.  S.  Volunteers 


H. WILSON 


.June   ISth,    1913. 
T.    S.    Peck,    Rao.  , 

152  follef  e   ptr  eet  , 

Purlinfton,   '"'t. 
My  dear  ?'r  .    Peek: 

I',  was  a      very  nleasant.   experience   after    two   weeks 
absence   in   the  west    to   receive    tbro'i^h   you  Governor    71  e  t- 
che*'s  very   cordial    invitation   to    *oin    in    t^e   dedication 
r>  -r   fv»a  "errnont   nonutient   to    t^e  E'irst  ^  *!>*  i^fn*    o*"  "ftmont 
Crt'/'ilry    nnd    :  o    its   l*»st    r-1  or  ions,    ro'",'T!n.n''p  ••  ,    on    r'c^d    friend 
"ajor   ^ener  ^1    '<rilliam  7''fills.      >To  «r-nn    est«»ft-n»d    -itv,er    the 
rfiriment    or    i  t  r,   las*    rolon*!    ""^r  <*   ^irMv    *><nn    T   did    «.n^ 
I    run  rlad    to    note    that   >fr  .    ^.ans1  ow    in    r^-v^inr   "Trsder    t1-'-'' 
Old    s'lar"   h'!&   r<?rceiv«d    'h.it    in    *>n*    work   T    endeavored 
to  express    my    'horour-b    re&pect   and   ,-ny  vip-v   admiration   ^or 
the   first  Vermont   cavalry  and    its    noble    rorr.and*??  .      ">ar- 
wet  t»    rife    rood    soldiers   a^    ever     .\or»:    t>e    An*irir":m   uni**orr 
and'   that   is    the   hif-v&t.   r-raise   I    or    any   other    man   car 
give   them. 

I    repret   eroe.-d  .i  nrly    t.  -at   I    shall    not  be    al    "«Mys- 
rurr   on      he    prea*    occafrion    whicV     is        ;    ',••.'•'£    -:•-  >    g'1     *o 
that.   h,ifc'oric   ^ield.      ^en   •i^:-if*    -  -    exlain    uon  more 


than   on-'    instance   I    v^ve   ans*Arered        '  •       •  nest    -•••' 

half    in    .ief-t    that    T    war-   enfor^-:    in    s      etta*     lob    -    thou- 


t'-ri"   ailes   nwr.y   on   that  eve^t^ul   day.      It   was  my  p-ood    ^or- 
tune    to    ^sjrry    the    ^1  ar  of    *r;ice    and    to   deVand    the    surren 
der    of  "ioksliur  p  on    tl^e   ni-vt    o-%  7:j\y    :'rd,    136-1,       As  you 
well,   know   tv,e    surrender    of  "°en>ior  ton '  .=-.    entire    sr-ny    and 
all.  its    arms    vie    s*ore*.    took  pi  ^ce    t>e    n^-t    d  ny    p.nd    T    W«F 


whioh   ended    at    '•"••«-   r-l  •  r«   on    tvat   p-lorious   day. 


Anoth 


eral   officer    o  ^   *he    volunte^-r    a-my  w^o    c-Trclsed    ai    inde 
pendent  command    in   the   las-t    c s^r ai  ^n ,    I    vnve   not   ~*een   of 
ficially   in-'ited    "by    ~>>y   on      <=-Tse    *->-n   Governor    ^letcver 
to    ?e   present   at    t^e   rrr,r«t    reunion  '.vh'ch    is   ^o    t  n*  e    nlace 
at   Gettysburg    in    t\e    early   d=?y£,    o1"1   Jixly,      *ra    tnp  made   oAh? 
c oratn i tia G n t s   it    :  s   no  ••    "' oo   1'ite    for    ns   to    recons-.ider    even 
should    such    an   invitation   finally  reach  me. 
^"^^ Wishing  you,    -he   governor,    and    all    the   gallant   sons 
of  rrermont   who   join   in    that   remarkable   reunion   every  he- 
nor    and    consideration,    v;it:     ^«~,  TI-IC"^    en.io:/nen*    a?,   can   he 
had    from   sue11    solemn   or  ore-,  d  tar? ,    I    5:1 

Very   /(/-erel-  you'    "ri-=nd<" 

Wtfc&o^ 


GENERAL  EDWARD  H.  RIPLEY 
Colonel  Ninth  Vermont  Volunteers 


MAJOR-GENERAL  D.  M.  M.  GREGG,  U.  S.  Volunteers 
Commanding  Division  of  Cavalry,  Army  of  the  Potomac,  at  Battle  of  Gettysburg 


^iu 


OS  flU**    a*c£vvL*~t£  A    ??yl)hi*ju-ci:tx*)  u 


&-t£4i 


r 


,   OS  frt^U  frt, 


REAR-ADMIRAL  CHARLES  E.  CLARK,  U.  S.  Navy 


CRAGSMOOR,N.Y 


If    t( 


, 


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COLONEL  JOHN  P.  NICHOLSON  HONORABLE  JOHN  C.   SCOFIELD 

Chairman  Gettysburg  National  Military  Assistant  and  Chief  Clerk  of  the  War 

Park  Commission  Department 

HONORABLE  HENRY  BRECKINRIDGK 

Acting  Secretary  of  War 

COLONEL  E.  B.   COPE  MAJOR  CHARLES  A.  RICHARDSON 

U.  S.  Army  Engineer  in  Chief  Gettysburg  National  Military  Park 

Commission 


WAR  DEPARTMENT  AND  GETTYSBURG 
NATIONAL  MILITARY  PARK  COMMISSION 

THE  citizens  of  the  State  of  Vermont,  the  officers 
and  men  of  the  First  Regiment,  Vermont  Cav 
alry,  the  monument  commissioners,  and  the  fam 
ily  of  General  Wells  are  loud  in  their  praises  of  the 
courteous  treatment  received  by  them  at  the  hands  of 
the  War  Department  and  of  the  Gettysburg  National 
Park  Commission,  and  especially  from  Colonel  John  P. 
Nicholson,  chairman,  who  personally  rendered  valuable 
assistance  in  the  various  and  delicate  details  connected 
with  the  erection  and  dedication  of  the  monument. 
From  the  time  the  Vermonters  first  visited  Gettys 
burg,  in  1910,  for  the  purpose  of  selecting  a  site,  Colonel 
Nicholson  manifested  a  strong  desire  that  a  memorial 
should  be  placed  on  that  historic  field  which  should 
fittingly  "signalize  the  valor  of  the  officers  and  men 
of  the  First  Regiment,  Vermont  Cavalry,  who  here 
paid  to  the  nation  the  uttermost  tribute  of  devotion," 
and  forever  stand  as  an  object  lesson  in  true  patriotism. 


INVITED  GUESTS 

ATONG  the  distinguished  guests  invited  are  the 
following: 
His  Excellency,  Woodrow  Wilson,  President 
of  the  United  States. 

Honorable  William  H.  Taft,  ex-President  of  the 
United  States,  New  Haven,  Connecticut. 

Honorable  Theodore  Roosevelt,  ex-President  of  the 
United  States  and  colonel  "Rough  Riders"  Spanish- 
American  War,  New  York. 

Honorable  Lindley  M.  Garrison,  secretary  of  war, 
Washington. 

Honorable  Henry  Breckinridge,  assistant  secretary  of 
war,  Washington. 

Honorable  John  C.  Scofield,  assistant  and  chief 
clerk  of  the  War  Department,  Washington. 

His  Excellency,  John  K.  Tener,  governor  Common 
wealth  of  Pennsylvania,  Harrisburg. 

General  Thomas  J.  Stewart,  the  adjutant-general 
Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania,  Harrisburg. 

Honorable  William  P.  Dillingham,  United  States 
Senator  from  Vermont,  Montpelier. 

Honorable  Carroll  S.  Page,  United  States  Senator 
from  Vermont,  Hyde  Park. 

Honorable  Frank  Plumley,  member  of  Congress  from 
Vermont,  Northfield. 

Honorable  Frank  L.  Greene,  member  of  Congress 
from  Vermont,  Saint  Albans. 

32 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

Representing  the  United  States  Army: 

Lieutenant-General  Nelson  A.  Miles,  U.  S.  A.  (re 
tired),  Washington,  D.  C.,  second  army  corps,  Army 
of  the  Potomac. 

Lieutenant-General  S.  B.  M.  Young,  U.  S.  A.  (re 
tired),  Washington,  D.  C.,  colonel  Fourth  Pennsyl 
vania  Cavalry,  Sheridan's  Cavalry  Corps. 

Major-General  Leonard  Wood,  chief  of  general  staff, 
U.  S.  A.,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Major-General  F.  C.  Ainsworth,  U.  S.  A.  (retired), 
Washington,  D.  C. 

Major-General  James  H.  Wilson,  U.  S.  A.  (retired), 
W  ilmington,  Delaware. 

Brigadier-General  Charles  H.  Tompkins,  U.  S.  A. 
(retired),  Washington,  D.  C. 

Brigadier-General  Eugene  D.  Dimmick,  U.  S.  A. 
(retired),  Washington,  D.  C.,  captain  Fifth  New  York 
Cavalry. 

Brigadier-General  Charles  Shaler,  U.  S.  A.  (retired) > 
Indianapolis,  Indiana. 

Brigadier-General  Walter  S.  Schuyler,  U.  S.  A.  (re 
tired),  Nevada  City,  California. 

Brigadier-General  John  M.  Wilson,U.  S,  A.  (retired), 
Washington,  D.  C. 

Colonel  John  C.  Gresham,  Tenth  U.  S.  Cavalry,  and 
all  officers  of  the  Tenth  Cavalry,  Fort  Ethan  Allen, 
Vermont. 

Lieutenant-Colonel  S.  L.  Faison,  Fifth  U.  S.  In 
fantry,  and  all  officers  of  the  Fifth  Infantry,  Plattsburg 
Barracks,  New  York. 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Daniel  L.  Tate,  U.  S.  A.,  WTash- 

ington,  D.  C. 

33 


IN  AFFECTIONATE  MEMORY  OF 

Major  James  S.  Wilson,  medical  corps,  U.  S.  A., 
Fort  Ethan  Allen,  Vermont. 

Major  E.  W.  Evans,  pay  department,  TJ.  S.  A.,  Fort 
Ethan  Allen,  Vermont. 

Major  Francis  J.  Koester,  U.  S.  A.,  adjutant- 
general's  office,  War  Department,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Major  James  E.  Normoyle,  quartermaster's  depart 
ment,  U.  S.  A.,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Captain  Ira  L.  Reeves,  U.  S.  A.  (retired),  professor 
of  military  science  and  tactics,  University  of  Vermont, 
Burlington,  Vermont. 

Representing  the  United  States  Navy: 

Admiral  George  Dewey,  U.  S.  N.,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Admiral  Charles  E.  Clark,  U.  S.  N.,  Washington, 
B.C. 

Honorable  Horatio  L.  Wait,  late  commander, 
U.  S.  N.,  Chicago,  Illinois. 

Representing  the  "Old  Vermont  Brigade": 

Major-General  Lewis  A.  Grant,  commander,  Min 
neapolis,  Minnesota. 

General  Sumner  H.  Lincoln,  U.  S.  A.  (retired), 
colonel  Sixth  Vermont,  San  Francisco,  California. 

General  Stephen  P.  Jocelyn,  U.  S.  A.  (retired), 
private  Sixth  Vermont,  Burlington,  Vermont. 

Ex-Governor  Samuel  E.  Pingree,  lieutenant-colonel 
Third  Vermont,  Hartford. 

Ex-Governor  Urban  A.  Woodbury,  first  sergeant 
Company  D,  Second  Vermont,  Burlington,  first  empty 
sleeve  from  Vermont  in  War  for  the  Union. 

34 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

Colonel  Edward  R.  Campbell,  Eleventh  Vermont, 
Washington,  D.  C. 

A.  J.  Maxham,  private  Third  Vermont,  Washington, 
D.  C. 

Colonel  James  H.  Walbridge,  colonel  Second  Ver 
mont,  Bennington. 

General  Frank  G.  Butterfield,  lieutenant-colonel 
Sixth  Vermont,  Derby  Line. 

Honorable  Henry  T.  Cushman,  regimental  quarter 
master,  Fourth  Vermont,  North  Bennington. 

Honorable  Byron  C.  Ward,  first  lieutenant  Second 
Vermont,  Gettysburg  commissioner  from  Iowa,  Des 
Moines,  Iowa. 

Representing  the  Second  Vermont  Brigade: 

Colonel  Heman  W.  Allen,  private  Thirteenth  Ver 
mont,  Gettysburg  commissioner  from  Vermont,  Bur 
lington. 

Ex-Governor  John  A.  Mead,  private  Twelfth  Ver 
mont,  Rutland. 

General  Crosby  P.  Miller,  U.  S.  A.  (retired),  corporal 
Sixteenth  Vermont,  Burlington. 

Colonel  Henry  O.  Clark,  sergeant  Thirteenth  Ver 
mont,  East  Orange,  New  Jersey. 

Colonel  Frank  Kenfield,  lieutenant  Thirteenth  Ver 
mont  and  captain  Seventeenth  Vermont,  Morris- 
ville. 

Colonel  W7.  H.  H.  Slack,  private  Sixteenth  Vermont, 
Springfield. 

General  George  H.  Bond,  private  Sixteenth  Vermont, 
Washington,  D.  C. 

35 


IN  AFFECTIONATE  MEMORY  OF 

Representing  Other  Vermont  Regiments,  Batteries,  and 
Sharpshooters : 

General  William  W.  Henry,  colonel  Tenth  Vermont^ 
Burlington. 

General  Edward  H.  Ripley,  colonel  Ninth  Vermont, 
Mendon. 

Major  Ira  H.  Evans,  private  Tenth  Vermont  (adju 
tant  genera]  Second  Division,  Twenty-fifth  Army 
Corps),  Austin,  Texas. 

Major  Charles  H.  Foote,  first  lieutenant  Michigan 
company,  Second  U.  S.  Sharpshooters,  South  Burling 
ton. 

Honorable  Cassius  Peck,  sergeant  Vermont  company,. 
U.  S.  Sharpshooters,  Burlington. 

General  Joel  H.  Lucia,  first  lieutenant  Seventeenth 
Vermont,  Montpelier. 

Representing  the  Armies  of  the  United  States: 

General  Horace  Porter,  U.  S.  A.,  aide-de-camp  to 
General  U.  S.  Grant  commanding,  New  York  City. 

Representing  the  Army  of  the  Potomac: 

Major-General  Joshua  L.  Chamberlain,  ex-governor 
of  Maine,  Fifth  Corps,  Portland. 

General  Elisha  H.  Rhodes,  colonel  Second  Rhode 
Island,  Sixth  Corps,  Providence. 

Colonel  Andrew  Cowan,  artillery  battalion,  Sixth 
Corps,  Louisville,  Kentucky. 

General  James  A.  Beaver,  colonel  One  Hundred  and 
Fortieth  Pennsylvania,  First  Corps,  Bellefonte,  Penn 
sylvania. 

36 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

General  Thomas  H.  Hubbard,  colonel  Thirtieth 
Maine,  New  York  City. 

Colonel  Harry  G.  Cavenaugh,  U.  S.  A.  (retired), 
colonel  First  Delaware  (Second  Corps),  New  Castle, 
Delaware. 

Representing  Sheridan  s  Cavalry  Corps: 

Major-General  David  McM.  Gregg,  commanding 
First  Division,  Reading,  Pennsylvania. 

General  James  M.  Schoonmaker,  colonel  Fourteenth 
Pennsylvania  and  chairman  of  the  Gettysburg  com 
mission  from  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  Pittsburgh. 

Colonel  Arnold  A.  Rand,  Fourth  Massachusetts 
Cavalry,  Boston,  Massachusetts. 

General  Jonathan  P.  Cilley,  colonel  First  Maine 
Cavalry,  Rockland,  Maine. 

General  Horatio  C.  King,  General  Sheridan's  Staff, 
Brooklyn,  New  York. 

Representing  Confederate  Armies: 
General  E.  M.  Law,  of  Florida. 
General  Andrew  J.  West,  of  Georgia. 
General  Felix  H.  Robertson,  of  Texas. 
Ed\vard  C.  Brush,  of  Massachusetts. 

Representing  the  Spanish- American  War: 

Colonel  Herbert  S.  Foster,  U.  S.  A.  (retired),  com 
mander  Vermont  Commandery,  Military  Order  of  the 
Loyal  Legion  of  the  United  States,  North  Calais, 
Vermont. 

Honorable  Frank  L.  Greene,  M.  C.,  captain  First 
Vermont  Infantry,  Saint  Albans,  Vermont. 

37 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

General  Lee  S.  Tillotson,  First  Regiment  Infantry, 
the  adjutant-general  of  Vermont,  Saint  Albans. 

Representing  the  First  Vermont  Cavalry  Regiment: 

General  Charles  H.  Tompkins,  U.  S.  A.  (retired), 
third  colonel  of  the  regiment,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Colonel  Edward  B.  Sawyer,  fourth  colonel  of  the 
regiment,  Hyde  Park. 

Colonel  John  W.  Bennett,  lieutenant-colonel  of  the 
regiment,  Chicago. 

Lieutenant  P.  C.  J.  Cheney,  first  lieutenant  Com 
pany  C,  Washington,  Vermont. 

Major  P.  O'Meara  Edson,  surgeon,  Roxbury,  Massa 
chusetts. 

Colonel  Clarence  D.  Gates,  adjutant,  Burlington. 

Alphonzo  L.  Barrows,  private,  Company  B,  Burling 
ton. 


THE  DEDICATORY  EXERCISES 
JULY  3,  1913 


MONUMENT  OF  MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS  AND  FIRST  VERMONT  CAVALRY 
SHOWING  BAS  RELIEF 


SIDE  VIEW  OF  STATUE,  SHOWING  TABLET  NUMBER  ONE 


SIDE  VIEW  OF  STATUE,  SHOWING  TABLET  NUMBER  Two 


KEY  TO  BRONZE  RELIEF  PANEL 

SHOWING  THE  CHARGE  MADE  BY  THE  REGIMENT 

NEAR  ROUND  TOP,  GETTYSBURG,  PENNSYLVANIA, 

JULY  3,  1863 

THE  figure  at  the  extreme  left,  with  sabre  raised, 
is  Major  William  Wells,  who,  in  command  of 
the  Second  Battalion,  First  Vermont  Cavalry,  is 
leading  the  charge  on  Law's  Brigade,  Hood's  Divi 
sion,  Longstreet's  Corps,  Army  of  Northern  Virginia, 
at  five  o'clock  on  the  afternoon  of  July  3,  1863. 

On  Major  Wells's  right  appears  Brigadier-General 
Elon  J.  Farnsworth,  commanding  the  Brigade,  who 
is  falling  from  his  horse  mortally  wounded. 

Immediately  behind  Major  Wells,  and  lying  face 
downward  upon  his  horse,  is  seen  Captain  Henry  C. 
Parsons,  commanding  Troop  L.  Captain  Parsons  was 
a  graduate  of  the  University  of  Vermont. 

To  the  right  of  Captain  Parsons,  with  raised  sabre, 
rides  F.  Stewart  Stranahan,  First  Sergeant  Troop  L. 
In  after  years  he  became  Lieutenant-Go vernor  of 
Vermont. 

Still  farther  to  the  right,  and  a  little  to  the  rear  of 
Sergeant  Stranahan,  is  Trumpeter  Gilbert  C.  Buck- 
man  of  Troop  L,  who  was  General  Farnsworth's  orderly 
bugler  and  sounded  the  charge,  while  immediately  to 
the  rear  may  be  seen  Edgar  J.  Wolcott,  Troop  L,  with 
both  hands  covering  his  face,  where  he  has  been 
desperately  wounded.  Behind  Wolcott,  and  wearing  a 

45 


IN  AFFECTIONATE  MEMORY  OF 

slouch  hat,  is  Lieutenant  Alexander  G.  Watson  of 
Troop  L.  At  Wolcott's  left,  and  directly  behind  Ser 
geant  Stranahan,  leaning  forward  on  his  horse,  rides 
First  Lieutenant  Hiram  H.  Hall,  Troop  E,  who  was 
serving  on  the  Brigade  Staff.  Captain  Hall  was  another 
graduate  of  the  University  of  Vermont,  and  was  killed 
at  Nottaway  Court  House,  Virginia,  in  1864.  Behind 
Lieutenant  Hall  is  Sergeant  William  L.  Greenleaf  of 
Troop  L,  who  wears  a  slouch  hat.  Later  he  became  a 
General,  and  for  many  years  commanded  the  National 
Guard  of  Vermont.  The  non-commissioned  officer  with 
full  beard  following  Sergeant  Greenleaf  is  Sergeant 
Willard  Farrington,  Troop  L. 

In  the  center  background,  a  little  to  the  right,  upon 
a  rearing  horse,  between  two  guidons,  appears 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Addison  W.  Preston,  the  officer 
wearing  a  slouch  hat,  with  sabre  raised,  he  having 
joined  the  Second  Battalion  with  reenforcements. 
Colonel  Preston  was  killed  at  the  battle  of  Cold 
Harbor  in  1864. 

The  figure  lying  dead  upon  the  grass  in  the  fore 
ground  is  that  of  Sergeant  George  H.  Duncan  of 
Troop  L,  while  behind  him  to  the  right  is  seen  Al- 
phonzo  Barrows  of  Troop  B,  raising  himself  from  his 
horse,  which  has  been  killed.  At  the  left  of  Comrade 
Barrows  appears  Sergeant  George  L.  McBride,  Troop 
L,  springing  from  his  horse,  which  has  been  shot; 
rushing  forward  he  seized  Sergeant  Duncan's  horse  and 
continued  in  the  charge.  To  the  right  of  Sergeant 
McBride  is  shown  Captain  Oliver  T.  Cushman  of 
Troop  E,  who,  having  been  severely  wounded  in  the 
face,  has  fallen  backward  on  his  horse.  The  following 

46 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

year  he  was  killed  at  the  battle  of  Cold  Harbor,  Vir 
ginia.  Near  Captain  Cushman  may  be  seen  a  riderless 
horse,  the  rider,  Rufus  D.  Thompson  of  Troop  L, 
having  been  killed,  while  just  beyond  appears  Gilbert 
O.  Smith  of  Troop  C,  falling  backward,  wounded. 

Upon  the  extreme  right  of  the  panel,  leaning  against 
a  boulder,  is  Lieutenant  Perley  C.  J.  Cheney,  Troop  C, 
who  was  shot  through  the  body,  the  ball  entering  his 
back  and  coming  out  near  his  pantaloons  watch 
pocket.  The  watch  and  ball  are  now  in  possession  of 
the  Vermont  Historical  Society  at  the  State  House, 
Montpelier. 

At  the  foot  of  the  tree,  near  Lieutenant  Cheney, 
reclines  Corporal  Ira  E.  Sperry  of  Troop  L,  who  was 
mortally  wounded  early  in  the  charge,  and  died  on 
the  22nd. 

The  first  of  the  two  horsemen  at  the  extreme  right 
of  the  background,  with  drawn  revolvers,  is  Sergeant 
Seymour  H.  Wood,  Troop  L,  who,  with  his  companion, 
is  taking  Confederate  prisoners  to  the  rear. 

Almost  the  last  charging  soldier  is  Edwin  E.  Jones 
of  Troop  K,  who  was  wounded,  and  may  be  seen  fall 
ing  backward,  with  his  arm  raised  and  sabre  falling. 

Many  of  the  faces  shown  in  this  relief  panel  are  from 
such  actual  pictures  of  First  Vermont  Cavalrymen 
participating  in  the  charge  as  it  was  possible  to  pro 
cure,  these  pictures  being  taken  about  the  year  1861, 
but  by  no  means  are  all  of  the  brave  Vermont  Cavalry 
men  who  took  part  in  this  terrible  action  and  were 
killed  and  wounded  represented,  the  limited  space 
making  it  impossible  to  include  each  one. 


47 


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TABLET  NUMBER  ONE 


TABLCT  NUMBER  Two 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 


SAINT  ALBANS,  VERMONT,  November  14,  1913. 
H.  NELSON  JACKSON,  M.D., 

Burlington,  Vermont. 
DEAR  DOCTOR: 

Fearing  that  the  detail  in  the  bronze  relief  panel , 
showing  two  cavalrymen  going  to  the  rear  with  un 
armed  prisoners,  may  seem  inconsistent  with  the 
charge  as  depicted,  may  I  relate  the  following? 

When    the    charging 

column  reached  a  point 
some  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  feet  from 
the  spot  where  General 
Earns  worth  fell,  the 
writer,  who  is  supposed 
to  be  one  of  the  two 
cavalrymen  mentioned 
above,  saw  four  or  five 
Confederates  among 
the  rocks  near  our  left 
flank,  and,  riding  to 
ward  them,  demanded 
their  surrender.  At 
the  same  instant  a 
comrade  came  to  my 
assistance,  as  the  Confederates  objected  to  going  to 
the  rear  and  were  dodging  behind  boulders  and  rocks 
where  it  was  impossible  for  us  to  ride.  During  this 
manoeuvring  I  lost  sight  of  my  comrade  and  of  all  but 
two  of  the  rebels,  one  of  whom  soon  succeeded  in  es 
caping,  but  the  other  I  brought  into  our  lines. 


SERGEANT  S.  H.   WOOD 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

On  the  3rd  of  July,  1913,  fifty  years  later,  as  Mr. 
Van  Amringe,  the  contractor,  was  engaged  in  draping 
the  statue  of  General  Wells  for  the  unveiling  cere 
monies,  a  one-armed  man  inquired  if  that  was  the 
statue  of  General  Farnsworth.  Mr.  Van  Amringe  in 
formed  him  that  it  was  the  statue  of  Major-General 
W7illiam  Wells,  who  led  the  charge  of  the  Vermont 
Cavalry.  In  southern  accents  the  old  soldier  replied: 
"I  am  one  of  the  Johnnie  Rebs  that  stopped  those  boys 
on  July  3,  1863,"  and,  looking  about  him,  said:  "There 
must  be  a  run  somewhere  around  here.  I  remember  it 
well,  because  we  were  greatly  in  need  of  drinking  water, 
and  two  men  from  each  company  in  my  regiment  were 
detailed  to  take  a  large  number  of  canteens  and  get 
them  filled  at  this  run.  They  never  came  back,  and  we 
heard  they  had  been  captured  by  this  Cavalry  com 
mand  that  afterward  made  the  charge  on  us."  Mr. 
Van  Amringe,  pointing  to  the  two  cavalrymen  at  the 
extreme  right  of  the  panel,  said:  "There  is  the  ex 
planation  why  the  six  men  did  not  come  back." 
With  much  emotion  the  Confederate  replied:  "My 
God,  it  is  worth  coming  all  the  way  from  Alabama  to 
find  out  what  became  of  Jimmie,  my  bunkie,  for  I 
never  knew  whether  he  and  his  companions  were 
killed,  captured,  or  what  became  of  them." 

This  explains  the  mystery  of  why  that  group  of 
Confederates  should  be  separated  from  their  command 
without  arms,  when  every  man  should  have  been  on 
the  firing  line. 

Yours  sincerely, 

SEYMOUR  H.  WOOD, 

Late  Sergeant  Company  L,  First  Vermont  Cavalry. 

50 


COLONEL  MYRON  M.  PARKER 
President  First  Vermont  Cavalry  Association 


THE  DEDICATORY  EXERCISES 

THE   exercises   opened  with  "assembly,"  the  call 
being  sounded    by  the    Fifth   Infantry    Bugle 
Corps,  which,  with    the    regimental  band,  fur 
nished  music  for  the  occasion. 

Prayer  was  offered  by  the  Rev.  Albert  W.  Clark, 
of  Bohemia,  sergeant  Twelfth  Vermont  Regiment  in 
1863,  as  follows: 

OUR  HEAVENLY  FATHER,  let  thy  special  blessing  rest 
upon  us  wTho  have  met  to-day  at  this  historic  spot  so 
nobly  and  valiantly  consecrated  by  our  brother  soldiers 
fifty  years  ago.  We  recall  with  thanksgiving  to  God 
their  bravery  and  self-denial  at  a  time  when  Gettys 
burg  demanded  supreme  sacrifice.  We  behold  with 
wonder  this  wooded  hillside  where  our  Vermont  cavalry 
made  such  a  brilliant  charge.  We  are  here  to-day,  O 
Thou  Great  Captain  of  our  Salvation,  to  honor  the 
memory  of  our  fellow  comrades,  and  to  take  by  the 
hand  the  survivors  of  that  magnificent  devotion  to  our 
flag.  Bless  these  veterans  here  before  Thee,  and  re 
ward  them  with  inward  peace  and  intense  loyalty  to 
all  the  interests  of  humanity  and  to  the  welfare  of  the 
kingdom  of  our  Lord.  On  this  spot,  where  our  com 
rades  gave  blood  and  life  for  our  country,  we  pledge 
our  devotion  to  the  still  unsolved  problems  of  our 
nation.  Accept  our  consecration  of  heart  and  soul 
to  every  noble  cause.  Behold,  O  God,  to-day  our 
offering  of  granite,  marble,  and  bronze.  We  cannot 

52 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

consecrate  to  Thee  this  hillside,  this  witness  of  un 
paralleled  valor,  but  we  do  dedicate  to  Thee  this 
monument  in  memory  of  the  Green  Mountain  Boys 
and  of  their  unflinching  leader  from  the  very  heart  of 
the  State  we  love.  We  thank  Thee,  Saviour  Divine, 
for  the  presence  this  day  of  our  Confederate  brothers 
who  now  love  the  one  flag  of  America.  Bless  richly 
the  Southland  and  draw  all  our  hearts  into  closer  har 
mony.  O  Thou  that  changest  not,  behold  the  change 
that  has  come  over  so  many  of  us,  so  that  many  who 
wore  the  blue  fifty  years  ago,  are  now  wearing  the 
gray,  as  our  silvery  hair  bears  witness.  Once  more, 
where  our  comrades  fell,  we  dedicate  anew  to  Thee 
our  few  remaining  years.  Lead  us  by  Thy  wisdom, 
and  help  us  to  live  "soberly,  righteously,  and  godly" 
in  the  present  world  until  we  enter  the  land  that  knows 
no  strife,  until  we  hear  Thy  gracious  words:  "Well 
done,  good  and  faithful  servant,  enter  into  the  joy  of 
Thy  Lord."  To  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit  be 
everlasting  praise.  AMEN. 


REVEREND  ALBERT  W.  CLARK 
Private  Twelfth  Vermont  Regiment,  Missionary  of  A.  B.  C.  F.  M.  in  Prague.  Bohemia 


FREDERICK  H.  WELLS 
Youngest  Brother  of  General  Wells 


"The  Star  Spangled  Banner"  was  then  played  by 
the  Fifth  Infantry  Band,  during  which  the  statue  was 
unveiled  by  Mrs.  Bertha  Wells  Jackson  and  Frank 
Richardson  Wells,  daughter  and  son  of  General  Wells; 
beside  them  stood  Frederick  Howard  Wells,  the 
youngest  brother  of  the  General,  and  Dr.  H.  Nelson 
Jackson. 

Colonel  Myron  M.  Parker,  the  chairman,  George  L. 
McBride,  and  the  Secretary,  General  T.  S.  Peck,  of  the 
commission  appointed  by  the  Governor  of  Vermont  to 
erect  the  memorial,  then  escorted  the  members  of  the 
Wells  family  to  the  speakers'  stand. 


FRANK  R.  WELLS 
Son  of  General  Wells 


DR.  H.  NELSON  JACKSON 


BERTHA  WELLS  JACKSON 
Daughter  of  General  Wells 


ADDRESS  OF  COLONEL  MYRON  M.  PARKER 
OF  WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 

PRESIDENT  OF  THE  FIRST  VERMONT  CAVALRY 
ASSOCIATION 

"  A  HALF  century  ago  on  this  historic  and  sacred 
/%  spot  it  was  decreed  that  the  Union  should  be 
^  jL.  preserved.  That  result  was  reached  only  after 
three  days  of  battle  and  carnage.  It  was  a  crucial  test 
which  called  forth  the  supreme  effort  of  every  man 
who  was  fighting  for  the  Union.  History  has  failed  to 
record  acts  of  greater  heroism  and  bravery.  At  the 
dawn  of  each  day's  battle  every  soldier  looked  into  his 
open  grave,  but  none  faltered  or  turned  back.  Amid 
volleys  of  musketry,  the  roar  of  cannon,  the  crashing 
and  shrieking  of  shells,  the  groans  of  the  mangled  and 
moans  of  the  dying,  they  swept  on  to  victory,  death, 
and  immortality.  Each  side  participating  in  that 
sanguinary  conflict  displayed  equal  valor.  Though 
both  sides  are  now  united  in  loyalty  to  a  common 
country,  each  fought  for  a  principle  they  believed  to 
be  right.  Conspicuous  among  those  who  took  part  in 
this  great  battle  on  the  Union  side  were  the  fearless 
soldiers  of  Vermont.  It  was  the  Vermont  Brigade 
under  the  command  of  the  gallant  General  Stannard, 
that  met  Pickett's  charge,  a  charge  that  for  desperation 
and  daring  has  challenged  the  admiration  of  the  world, 
and  by  a  determined  front  and  deadly  flank  fire 
arrested  its  advance.  Those  heroic  services,  appre- 

60 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

ciated  and  applauded  by  the  State  and  Nation,  have 
already  been  recognized  by  the  erection  of  a  suitable 
monument  on  this  field. 

"To-day  the  survivors  of  the  First  Vermont  Cavalry 
have  assembled  here  to  dedicate  a  monument  to  the 
officers  and  men  of  that  historic  regiment  and  to  their 
distinguished  commander,  Major-General  William 
Wells.  Standing  here  are  some  of  those  who,  just  fifty 
years  ago,  participated  in  the  terrific  charge  of  the 
First  Vermont  Cavalry  near  Round  Top,  where  we 
are  now  standing,  in  which  so  many  of  our  comrades 
went  to  a  glorious  death. 

"It  will  be  recalled  that  at  about  five  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  General  Kilpatrick,  commanding  the  cavalry 
division,  ordered  General  Farnsworth's  Brigade  to 
charge  Hood's  Division  of  Infantry,  then  in  possession 
of  Round  Top.  A  battalion  of  the  First  Vermont 
Cavalry,  consisting  of  four  companies,  led  by  Major 
William  Wells,  supported  by  another  battalion  of  the 
regiment,  immediately  went  forward.  They  rushed 
through  Plum  Run,  up  over  the  rocks  and  through 
woods,  charging  into  Law's  fighting  Confederate  Brig 
ade,  consisting  of  five  regiments  of  infantry.  The 
conflict  was  terrific  and  hand-to-hand;  bayonets,  sabres, 
muskets,  and  pistols  clashing  together.  Wells's  bat 
talion  not  only  suffered  from  the  close  range  of  mus 
ketry  fire  of  Law's  Brigade,  but  also  from  two  Con 
federate  batteries  of  twelve  guns,  located  on  a  hill 
near  by,  also  from  a  longer  range  of  musketry  and 
artillery  fire  from  the  right  of  the  Confederate  line  of 
battle  near  the  Emmettsburg  Pike.  The  battalion  did 
not  consist  of  over  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  men, 

61 


IN  AFFECTIONATE  MEMORY  OF 

and  when  the  charge  was  over  it  was  found  that 
seventy-five,  or  thirty  per  cent  of  the  whole  number, 
had  fallen. 

"Lieutenant-Colonel  Preston,  commanding  the  regi 
ment,  in  his  report,  July  11,  1863,  says:  'The  charge 
of  Wells 's  battalion  upon  a  brigade  of  infantry  has 
seldom  been  excelled  in  desperation  and  valor.'  This 
charge  is  reported  in  the  war  histories  as  one  of  the 
most  desperate  ever  known. 

"Colonel  William  F.  Fox,  a  historian  of  the  United 
States  Volunteers,  says:  'The  greatest  loss  of  life  in 
any  one  brigade  during  the  Civil  War  occurred  in  the 
Vermont  Brigade,'  and  'Of  Cavalry  Regiments  in  the 
Union  Armies,  the  First  Vermont  was  one  of  the  five 
which  suffered  the  greatest  loss  through  those  killed 
and  mortally  wounded.'  It  is  admitted  by  all  that  it 
was  second  to  none  in  the  capture  of  guns,  prisoners, 
and  battle  flags. 

"What  a  splendid  regiment  was  this  First  Vermont 
Cavalry!  WThat  brave  men  and  fearless  officers!  It 
saw  four  years  of  service  and  participated  in  seventy- 
six  battles.  It  was  the  common  remark  of  both  Gen 
erals  Sheridan  and  Custer  that  the  presence  of  the 
First  Vermont  Cavalry  always  inspired  confidence  and 
assured  victory.  In  the  action  of  Hawe's  Shop,  looking 
down  into  the  sightless  eyes  of  the  gallant  Colonel 
Preston,  General  Custer  said,  'There  lies  one  of  the 
best  Cavalry  Colonels  in  the  Army.'  It  was  a  privilege 
to  serve  in  such  a  regiment  and  under  such  command 
ers  as  Sawyer,  Preston,  Hall,  Wells,  and  Bennett. 
Those  who  fell  on  the  field  of  battle  have  always  been 
envied  by  those  who  survived.  The  proudest  heritage 

62 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

we  can  leave  our  children  is  the  official  record  that 
we  were  permitted  to  serve  our  country  in  that  fighting 
regiment,  the  First  Vermont  Cavalry.  The  story  of 
loyalty,  courage,  and  sacrifice  of  this  memorable  regi 
ment  will  be  told  by  those  who  follow  me,  and  I  now 
have  the  honor  and  pleasure  of  introducing  His  Ex 
cellency,  Allen  M.  Fletcher,  Governor  of  Vermont, 
who  will  speak  for  the  State." 

Governor  Fletcher,  addressing  Major  Lasseigne,  said : 
"Sir,  to  you  as  representative  of  the  United  States 
Government,  on  the  part  of  a  State  more  noted  for 
deeds  than  words,  on  the  part  of  a  State  ever  ready  to 
shed  its  blood  for  the  country,  on  the  part  of  a  State 
which  never  lost  a  color,  in  behalf  of  the  State  of  Ver 
mont,  as  a  memorial  to  the  First  Vermont  Cavalry 
and  General  Wells,  I  transfer  to  you  this  monument." 

By  direction  of  the  Secretary  of  War  Major  Armand 
I.  Lasseigne,  Fifth  United  States  Infantry,  received 
the  monument  in  behalf  of  the  United  States  Gov 
ernment. 

Introducing  General  Peck,  Colonel  Parker  said: 

"I  am  going  to  introduce  a  man,  a  man  who,  when  a 
boy,  enlisted  as  a  private  in  Company  F,  First  Ver 
mont  Cavalry,  from  which  he  was  promoted  to  a 
Lieutenancy  in  the  Ninth  Vermont  Infantry.  A  soldier 
who  served  with  such  gallantry  that  he  was  awarded 
a  gold  medal  of  honor  by  the  Government  of  the 
United  States.  I  am  going  to  introduce  a  man  who 
for  twenty  years,  as  Adjutant-General  of  Vermont,  and 

63 


His  EXCELLENCY  ALLEN  M.  FLETCHER 
Governor  of  Vermont 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

as  a  citizen,  has  been  working  for  the  betterment  of 
the  old  soldiers ;  a  man  who  did  most  of  all  in  obtaining 
an  appropriation  for  this  wonderfully  striking,  forceful 
monument  we  have  just  unveiled,  and  in  securing  its 
erection.  I  call  upon  General  Peck." 

He  spoke  as  follows: 

"Mr.  President,  Ladies,  and  Gentlemen:  I  have  the 
honor  of  describing  to  you  the  First  Vermont  Cavalry 
monument. 

"During  the  Legislature  of  1912  the  State  of  Ver 
mont  appropriated  $6,000  for  a  monument  to  com 
memorate  the  services  and  perpetuate  the  memory 
of  Major-General  William  Wells  and  the  officers  and 
enlisted  men  of  the  First  Regiment  Vermont  Cav 
alry. 

"This  monument  now  stands  near  where  the  Regi 
ment  began  its  desperate  charge  at  five  o'clock  on  the 
afternoon  of  July  3,  1863,  under  the  leadership  of 
Major  W7ells,  who  was  in  command  of  the  Battalion, 
with  Brigadier-General  Elon  J.  Farnsworth,  command 
ing  the  Brigade,  riding  by  his  side. 

"The  first  boulder,  which  forms  the  base,  is  in  its 
original  position,  while  the  second  was  taken  from  a 
spot  near  by. 

"The  two  boulders,  from  the  foundation  to  the  top, 
measure  some  eight  feet,  and  the  bronze  statue  of 
General  Wells  is  of  the  same  height,  making  the  total 
height  of  the  monument  sixteen  feet. 

"The  uniform,  hat,  boots,  belt,  and  revolver  worn  by 
General  Wells  during  the  war  were  used  by  the  artist, 
Mr.  J.  Otto  Schweizer,  in  modeling  the  statue,  the 

65 


GENERAL  THEODORE  S.  PECK 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

portrait  being  from  a  photograph  taken  at  the  time  of 
the  war. 

"The  bas-relief,  costing  some  $2,000,  is  the  gift  of 
the  honorary  and  active  members  of  the  Regiment. 
War  pictures  of  various  members  of  the  First  Vermont 
Cavalry  were  furnished  the  artist  for  use  in  this  panel, 
and  the  horses  are  of  the  Morgan  type,  one  thousand 
of  which  went  with  the  Regiment  to  the  front  in 
1861. 

"While  it  is  impossible  to  mention  all  of  the  officers 
and  men  who  participated  in  this  charge,  among  the 
foremost  in  the  bas-relief  may  be  seen  Major  Wells 
leading  the  charge,  and  at  his  right  General  Farns- 
worth,  falling  from  his  horse  mortally  wounded.  In 
the  center  background  is  shown  Lieutenant-Colonel 
A.  W.  Preston,  with  sword  raised  and  horse  rearing, 
his  battalion  having  joined  that  of  Major  Wells  after 
passing  the  Slyder  house. 

"The  Commissioners  having  charge  of  this  work 
have  endeavored  to  furnish  the  contractors  and  the 
artist  with  all  the  material  possible  to  make  this  a 
fitting  memorial  whereby  the  world  may  know  the 
story  which  is  so  familiar  to  the  veterans  of  our  Green 
Mountain  State. 

"They  wish  to  place  on  record  their  sincere  gratitude 
to  Honorable  Henry  Breckinridge,  Acting  Secretary  of 
War;  Honorable  John  C.  Scofield,  Assistant  and  Chief 
Clerk  of  the  War  Department;  to  the  Gettysburg  Na 
tional  Park  Commission,  of  which  Colonel  John  P. 
Nicholson  is  chairman,  and  to  Colonel  E.  B.  Cope, 
U.  S.  A.,  Engineer-in-Chief,  for  the  valuable  assistance 
rendered  in  the  erection  of  this  monument  near  the 

67 


MAJOR  JAMES  H.  McREA  MAJOR  CHARLES  D.  RHODES 

Commanding  Battalion  Fifth  U.  S.  Infantry  Commanding  Battalion  Fifteenth  U.  S.  Cavalry 

MAJOR  JAMES  E.  NORMOYLE,  U.  S.  ARMY 

Chief  Quarter  Master,  in  charge  of  Veterans'  Camp  at  Gettysburg,  July  1-4, 1913 
FIRST  LIEUTENANT  THOMAS  L.  CRYSTAL  FIRST  LIEUTENANT  GEORGE  M.  RUSSEL 

Adjutant  Battalion.  Fifth  U.  S.  Infantry,  having  Commanding  Platoon,  Fifteenth  U.  S.  Cavalry 

charge  of  Fifth  Infantry  Band 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

spot  where  the  Regiment  began  its  desperate  charge 
on  the  afternoon  of  July  3,  1863. 

"To  Colonel  John  C.  Gresham  and  Captain  W.  H.  K 
Godsen,  of  the  Tenth  U.  S.  Cavalry,  and  to  Major 
James  E.  Normoyle,  of  the  United  States  Army,  Chief 
Quartermaster  of  the  National  Camp,  and  to  his 
assistants,  are  due  our  hearty  thanks  for  efficient  service 
given;  also  to  General  Hunter  Liggett,  commanding  the 
United  States  Army  Camp;  to  Major  James  H.  McRea, 
commanding  the  Fifth  Infantry,  and  to  Major  Charles 
D.  Rhodes,  commanding  the  Fifteenth  Cavalry. 

"The  Commissioners  are  deeply  grateful  to  Mr.  W. 
B.  Van  Amringe,  president  of  the  Van  Amringe  Granite 
Company,  the  contractors,  and  to  Mr.  J.  Otto 
Schweizer,  the  artist,  for  their  splendid  service,  which 
has  made  this  memorial  so  successful. 

"By  this  monument  Vermont  honors  the  valor  of 
her  sons  who  here  paid  to  the  nation  the  uttermost 
tribute  of  devotion.  She  records  her  pride  in  their  un 
flinching  courage,  their  soldierly  obedience,  their  un 
hesitating  attempt  of  the  impossible.  She  testifies  her 
admiration  of  the  manhood  of  the  brigade  commander 
who  twice  told  his  superior  officer  that  the  charge 
ought  not  to  be  made,  yet  for  himself  shunned  not 
the  danger.  No  more  gallant  or  more  desperate 
charge  was  made  during  the  war,  nor  one  more  fruitless. 

"This  was  but  a  single  holocaust — one  of  many 
offered  on  the  altar  of  American  Freedom. 

"During  its  four  years  of  service  the  Regiment  had 
seven  Colonels,  three  of  whom  resigned  and  one  was 
killed — Colonel  Addison  W.  Preston,  who  fell  at  Cold 
Harbor.  Had  he  lived  a  few  days  longer  he  would 

69 


IN  AFFECTIONATE  MEMORY  OF 

have  been  promoted  to  the  rank  of  brigadier-general, 
for  he  stood  very  high  with  his  superior  officers,  and 
they  were  only  waiting  for  his  appointment  as  Colonel 
to  give  him  higher  rank  and  more  responsible  duties. 
General  Custer,  who  commanded  the  Brigade,  voiced 
the  opinion  of  many  when  he  said,  as  he  turned  from 
Colonel  Preston's  body,  'There  lies  the  best  fighting 
Colonel  in  the  Cavalry  Corps  of  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac.'  Of  the  remaining  three,  one  committed 
suicide;  another,  William  Wells,  was  promoted 
Brigadier-General  and  Major-General;  and  one,  Colonel 
Josiah  Hall,  returned  home  in  command  of  the 
Battalion. 

"The  Regiment  had  five  Lieutenant-Colonels;  one 
resigned;  two,  Preston  and  Wells,  were  promoted 
Colonels;  one,  Lieutenant-Colonel  John  W.  Bennett, 
was  mustered  out  after  three  years'  service;  and  the 
other,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Cummings,  returned  home 
with  the  Regiment. 

"There  were  twelve  majors;  two  resigned,  five  were 
promoted,  one  was  mustered  out  after  three  years' 
service,  and  four  came  home  at  the  close  of  the  war. 

"The  Regiment  served  most  of  the  time  in  the 
Second  Brigade  and  Third  Division  of  Sheridan's 
Cavalry  Corps,  Army  of  the  Potomac,  under  Generals 
Wilson,  Custer,  Chapman,  Wells,  and  others. 

"In  Colonel  Fox's  list  of  Three  Hundred  Fighting 
Regiments  of  the  Union  Army,  which  lost  over  one 
hundred  and  thirty  men  in  killed  and  died  of  wounds 
during  the  war,  the  First  Vermont  Cavalry  stands  the 
fifth,  the  First  Maine  and  the  First,  Fifth,  and  Sixth 
Michigan  Regiments  preceding  it.  There  were  two 

70 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

hundred  and  seventy-two  Regiments,  forty-five  Bat 
talions,  and  seventy-eight  Companies  of  Cavalry  in 
the  Armies  of  the  Union  from  1861  to  1866. 

"So  far  as  we  know,  the  following  officers  of  the 
Regiment  are  living  to-day: 

"Two  Colonels,  Charles  H.  Tompkins,  now  a 
Brigadier-General  (retired)  of  the  United  States  Army, 
who  resides  in  Washington,  D.  C.,  and  Edward  B. 
Sawyer,  of  Hyde  Park,  Vermont. 

"One  Lieutenant-Colonel,  John  W.  Bennett,  a  resi 
dent  of  Chicago,  Illinois. 

"Two  Majors,  Robert  Schofield,  who  resides  in  Kil- 
bourn  City,  Wisconsin,  and  Andrew  J.  Grover,  a  resi 
dent  of  Los  Angeles,  California. 

"Of  the  Staff  there  are  three  living — Adjutant  Clar 
ence  D.  Gates,  of  Burlington,  Vermont;  Assistant 
Surgeon  P.  O'Meara  Edson,  of  Boston,  Massachusetts ; 
and  Chaplain  John  E.  Goodrich,  of  Burlington, 
Vermont. 

"Of  all  the  officers  of  the  different  companies  there 
are  living:  Four  in  Company  A,  four  in  Company  B, 
three  in  Company  C,  one  in  Company  D,  one  in  Com 
pany  E,  one  in  Company  F,  one  in  Company  G,  two 
in  Company  H,  two  in  Company  I,  one  in  Company 
K,  and  none  in  Companies  L  and  M. 

"The  last  Vermont  soldier  killed  in  battle  was 
Private  George  B.  Dunn,  of  Company  M,  First  Ver 
mont  Cavalry,  who  was  killed  on  the  evening  of  April 
8,  1865;  and  the  last  Vermont  soldier  wounded  was 
Lieutenant  Willard  Farrington,  of  Company  L,  same 
regiment,  who  was  wounded  early  the  same  evening. 

"As  the  Second  Vermont  Brigade,  under  the  heroic 

71 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

Stannard,  did  valiant  service  on  the  flank  of  Pickett's 
charging  column  at  three  o'clock  on  the  afternoon  of 
July  3,  1863,  and  as  the  First  Vermont  Brigade,  which 
had  marched  thirty-six  miles  in  one  day  to  reach  the 
battlefield  and  was  being  held  in  reserve,  stood  ready 
to  respond  to  a  call  to  any  part  of  the  field  where  they 
might  be  most  needed,  and  also  as  the  courageous 
sharpshooters  covered  themselves  with  glory  in  the 
action  of  July  2-3,  so  the  brave  men  of  the  First  Ver 
mont  Cavalry,  under  the  noble  Preston  and  the  gallant 
Wells,  did  magnificent  work  at  five  o'clock  of  the  same 
afternoon  in  charging  Round  Top,  when  they  knew 
the  impossible  lay  before  them,  yet  faltered  not  in 
soldierly  duty." 


FIRST  TABLET 

A™  5  p.  M.,  July  3,  1863,  the  Second  Battalion,  First 
Vermont  Cavalry,  led  by  Major  William  Wells, 
General  Farnsworth,  commanding  the  brigade, 
riding  by  his  side,  crossed  Plum  Run  near  this  point, 
charging  over  stone  walls,  amid  rocks  and  through 
woods,  till  they  encountered  five  regiments  of  Law's 
Confederate  Brigade,  near  the  spot  where  the  regi 
mental  monument  stands. 

The  first  battalion  and  part  of  the  third,  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  A.  W.  Preston  commanding,  were  ordered  to 
the  support  of  the  second,  moved  northerly  to  the 
Slyder  house,  turned  into  the  lane,  and  struck  Law's 
Brigade  in  flank.  The  onset  was  terrific,  sabres  and 
bayonets,  revolvers  and  muskets  being  freely  used. 
After  a  struggle  the  hill  was  carried  by  the  First  Ver 
mont  and  the  prisoners  captured  sent  to  the  rear. 

The  three  battalions  united  soon  came  under  the 
fire  of  the  Fourth  Alabama  Infantry  and  presently  of 
the  Ninth  Georgia  Infantry.  Finding  no  exit  to  the 
south,  they  turned  to  the  east  and  charged  the  Fif 
teenth  Alabama  Infantry,  which  answered  a  summons 
to  surrender  by  a  destructive  musketry  fire,  those 
unhurt  escaping  mostly  to  the  south. 

This  memorial  signalizes  the  valor  of  the  officers  and 
men  of  the  First  Vermont  Cavalry  who  here  paid  to 
the  nation  the  uttermost  tribute  of  devotion. 


SECOND  TABLET 

WILLIAM  WELLS 
Brevet  Major-General  U.  S.  Vols. 

1837-1892. 

First  Lieut.  Co.  C  1st  Vermont  Cavalry  Oct.  14,  1861, 
Captain  Co.  C.  Nov.  18,  1861. 
Major  Dec.  30,  1862. 
Colonel  July  2,  1864. 

Brevet  Brigadier-General  U.  S.  Vols.  Feb.  22,  1865. 
Brevet  Major-General  U.  S.  Vols.  "for  gallant  and 

meritorious  services"  March  13,  1865. 

Brigadier-General  U.  S.  Vols.  May  19,  1865. 

Honorably  mustered  out  Jan.  15,  1866. 

Once  wounded  and  once  a  prisoner. 
Awarded  Medal  of  Honor  for  "most  distinguished 

gallantry  at  Gettysburg"  July  3,  1863. 
Commander  of  Sheridan's  Cavalry  Corps. 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

Introducing  Senator  Dillingham,  Colonel  Parker 
said: 

"Vermont  has  been  most  fortunate  in  the  selection 
of  those  who  were  to  direct  the  affairs  of  the  State  and 
to  represent  the  State  in  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States.  The  names  of  Collamer,  Foote,  Edmunds,  and 
Morrill  adorn  the  pages  of  national  legislation.  The 
same  may  be  said  of  the  distinguished  representatives 
who  have  served  in  the  lower  House.  No  less  fortunate 
are  we  to-day  in  our  representation.  I  am  going  to  in 
troduce  as  the  next  speaker  a  man  who  enjoys  the 
confidence  of  every  man  who  occupies  a  seat  in  the 
Senate;  a  man,  the  impress  of  whose  mind  may  be 
found  in  much  of  the  important  legislation  of  the 
country;  a  man  who  never  forgets  his  State  and  the 
protection  of  her  interests.  I  am  going  to  introduce  a 
man  who  has  the  courage  of  his  convictions;  a  man 
who  searches  out  the  right  and,  having  found  it,  hews 
to  the  line,  letting  the  chips  fly  where  they  may;  a 
man  whose  votes  in  the  United  States  Senate  are  cast 
according  to  his  convictions,  uninfluenced  by  any 
passing  sensational  clamor;  a  man  who  has  the  courage 
to  do  right  even  though  the  doing  might  cost  him  his 
seat  in  the  Senate.  Such  a  man  is  William  P.  Dilling 
ham,  whom  I  now  have  the  honor  to  introduce." 

"MR.  PRESIDENT: 

"Speaking  for  the  surviving  members  of  the  Wells 
family,  most  of  whom  are  present  on  this  occasion,  as 
well  as  for  the  circle  of  their  kinsmen  of  whom  I  am 
proud  to  be  one,  I  beg  leave  to  express  to  you,  and 
through  you  to  the  people  of  Vermont,  the  profound 

75 


HONORABLE  WILLIAM  P.  DILLINGHAM 
United  States  Senator  from  Vermont 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

sense  of  pride  and  satisfaction  which  we  feel  in  the 
action  of  their  General  Assembly  in  causing  to  be 
erected  upon  this  historic  spot  a  monument  com 
memorating  the  services  and  perpetuating  the  memory 
of  General  William  W'ells  and  the  officers  and  men  of 
the  First  Regiment  Vermont  Cavalry,  whose  loyal  de 
votion  and  gallant  support  gave  him  confidence  in 
every  emergency  and  which  he  always  insisted  was  the 
chief  element  in  the  success  whidb  he  achieved.  To 
speak  of  him  is  to  speak  of  all  those  who  constituted 
this  intrepid  band  of  young  men  who  rode  loyally 
with  him  through  all  the  campaigns  of  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac,  and  toward  every  surviving  member 
of  which  our  hearts  go  out  to-day  in  affectionate 
regard. 

"But,  Sir,  it  is  not  possible  for  me  to  limit  myself 
to  a  mere  expression  of  the  grateful  sentiments  which 
fill  to  overflowing  the  hearts  of  the  Wells  family  to-day. 
I  must  speak  for  that  larger  family,  the  citizen  body  of 
the  town  of  Waterbury,  of  which  the  Wells  family 
have  been  prominent  members  for  more  than  a  century 
of  its  history. 

"The  character  of  the  military  service  rendered  by 
General  W  ells  was  such  as  to  challenge  the  attention 
of  thoughtful  men,  and  suggests  an  inquiry  as  to  the 
sources  of  that  inspiration  which  found  expression  in 
his  heroic  deeds. 

"It  must  be  remembered  that  when  he  so  proudly 
rode  at  the  head  of  the  Second  Brigade  of  the  Third 
Division  of  the  Cavalry  Corps  in  the  Grand  Review 
of  the  22nd  of  May,  1865,  as  well  as  at  the  time  when 
he  became  the  Commander  of  that  gallant  corps,  he 

77 


IN  AFFECTIONATE  MEMORY  OF 

was  less  than  twenty -eight  years  of  age.  That  during 
a  period  of  less  than  five  years,  and  at  a  time  in  life 
when  young  men  are  commonly  found  in  the  colleges 
and  universities,  he  had  passed  from  the  rank  of 
private  in  the  First  Vermont  Cavalry  to  that  of 
Brigadier-General  and  Brevet  Major-General  of  Vol 
unteers  in  the  Army  of  the  United  States.  That  as 
Company  and  Field  Officer  of  his  regiment  he  had  led 
his  troopers  in  not  less  than  half  a  hundred  engage 
ments,  and  as  Brigade  and  Division  Commander  in 
not  less  than  eighteen  others,  some  of  which  were  the 
greatest  and  most  important  battles  of  the  war.  And 
so,  at  an  age  when  most  men  are  but  entering  the 
activities  of  life,  he  had  made  a  record  the  brilliance  of 
which  fifty  years  of  time  have  failed  to  lessen,  and 
which  is  now  recognized  by  those  not  then  born.  To 
them  this  story  of  achievement  comes  as  a  tale  which 
never  loses  interest,  and  one  which  will  stand  through 
all  ages  to  the  credit  of  that  splendid  civilization  which 
gave  him  birth,  which  shaped  his  thought  and  de 
veloped  his  character,  and  which  has  made  Vermont 
a  republic  in  which  liberty,  under  law,  finds  its  highest 
expression,  and  one  in  which  the  door  of  opportunity 
stands  open  to  all  those  who  are  worthy  to  enter. 

"The  town  of  Waterbury  was  settled  by  men  who 
represented  both  in  blood  and  sentiment  that  splendid 
element  of  liberty-loving  Englishmen,  who,  after  the 
great  intellectual  awakening  of  the  Sixteenth  Cen 
tury,  asserted  the  supremacy  of  personal  liberty  over 
absolutism,  and  in  the  struggle  which  followed  moved 
with  a  majestic  purpose  and  heroic  courage  through  a 
century  of  conflict,  which  resulted  in  the  destruction 

78 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

of  arbitrary  power,  the  establishment  of  a  constitu 
tional  and  parliamentary  government,  under  which 
the  liberties  of  the  English  people  have  been  main 
tained  down  to  the  present  time.  Many  were  also  the 
product  of  a  century  and  a  half  of  colonial  life,  and  in 
every  fiber  of  their  being  represented  the  fundamental 
principles  upon  which  human  rights  are  founded  and 
upon  which  only  can  governments  find  a  sure  founda 
tion.  Some  of  them  had  served  in  the  Revolutionary 
War,  had  afterward  lived  under  the  Confederation 
and  had  seen  their  dearly-bought  liberties  brought  into 
peril;  but  they  had  also  lived  to  see  the  Government 
of  the  United  States  firmly  established  under  a  Con 
stitution  of  provisions  which  have  excited  the  admira 
tion  of  the  world's  greatest  statesmen.  Of  this  colonial 
stock  were  Ezra  Butler,  Roswell  Wells,  Paul  Dilling- 
ham,  Sr.,  Dan  Carpenter,  Sylvester  Henry,  Henry  F. 
Janes,  and  others  too  numerous  to  mention.  General 
Wrells  and  his  three  brothers,  who  also  found  service 
in  the  War,  were  grandchildren  of  both  Roswell  Wells 
and  Dan  Carpenter,  and  were  the  sons  of  W7illiam  W. 
Wells,  a  graduate  of  the  University  of  Vermont;  a 
man  of  marked  characteristics,  strong,  aggressive, 
generous,  just,  and  honest,  and,  above  all  else,  a  man 
of  such  patriotism  that  in  the  years  preceding  the 
WTar  every  power  of  his  being  was  dedicated  to  the 
cause  of  human  rights,  and  such  that  during  the  War 
he  sacrificed  every  selfish  interest  to  serve  as  Chairman 
of  the  Board  of  Selectmen  of  Waterbury,  devoting  his 
great  energies  to  securing  enlistments  to  the  Army 
and  in  other  ways  promoting  the  common  cause. 
Such  was  the  stock  from  which  General  Wrells  sprang. 

79 


IN  AFFECTIONATE  MEMORY  OF 

"And  speaking  of  the  larger  family  of  which  General 
Wells  was  a  member,  may  I  be  permitted  to  carry  a 
little  further  the  suggestion  of  the  influence  which  the 
colonial  type  of  patriotism  had  upon  even  the  second 
and  third  generations  and  say  that  every  man  going 
out  as  an  officer  of  volunteers  from  the  town  of  Water- 
bury  to  battle  for  the  Union  was  a  descendant  of  that 
pioneer  element  of  which  I  have  spoken  and  that  all 
were  friends  and  some  of  them  kinsmen  of  General 
Wells.  Did  birth  and  education  and  environment  find 
expression  in  their  character  and  in  the  great  con 
trolling  convictions  of  their  lives?  Let  the  facts 
answer!  Let  it  be  remembered  that  forty -three  per 
cent  of  such  officers  were  killed  in  battle,  their  faces 
to  the  foe,  and  glad  in  their  hearts  that  they  had  lives 
which  they  could  give  for  the  principles  in  which 
they  had  been  educated.  Major  Dillingham,  Captain 
Thompson,  and  Lieutenant  Henry  need  no  eulogy  at 
my  hands  on  this  occasion.  And  may  I  further  call 
your  attention  to  the  fact  that  of  the  three  Vermont 
officers  who  reached  the  rank  of  Brevet  Major-General 
of  Volunteers  in  the  War  for  the  Union,  Waterbury  has 
credit  for  that  one  whose  name  is  upon  the  lips  of 
every  person  present  in  the  audience,  and  who,  fifty 
years  ago  to-day,  almost  at  this  hour  and  upon  this 
field,  nobly  supported  by  his  devoted  men,  rendered  a 
service  of  such  distinguished  gallantry  that  he  received 
the  recognition  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States 
and  the  gratitude  of  his  native  State  through  whose 
action  his  memory  is  so  signally  honored  here  to-day. 
It  is  also  of  interest  to  note  that  of  six  Vermont  officers 
who  rose  to  the  rank  of  Brevet  Brigadier-General  of 

80 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

Volunteers,  Waterbury  was  credited  with  one  in  the 
person  of  William  W.  Henry,  a  grandson  of  Sylvester 
Henry;  and  that  one  of  the  founders  of  the  town, 
Ezra  Butler,  who  was  clerk  of  its  original  proprietors, 
and  who  later  became  Judge  of  the  County  Court, 
Governor  of  the  State,  and  member  of  Congress,  was 
represented  by  Surgeon  Henry  Janes,  a  grandson,  who 
during  his  service  had  wounded  men  under  his  care  or 
direction  twice  greater  in  number  than  the  standing 
army  of  the  United  States  prior  to  our  recent  war  with 
Spain.  Unable  to  be  with  us  to-day  because  of  im 
paired  health,  he  sits  in  his  home  at  Waterbury  a  man 
of  kingly  intellect,  of  strong  but  modest  nature,  think 
ing,  I  doubt  not,  of  more  than  twenty-five  thousand 
wounded  men  who  fell  into  his  hands  after  three  days 
of  fighting  on  this  historic  field,  when  he  was  placed  in 
charge  of  all  the  hospitals  in  and  about  Gettysburg  by 
Medical  Director  Letterman. 

"And  speaking  further  of  this  larger  family  to  which 
General  Wells  belonged,  I  am  reminded  of  the  often- 
quoted  statement  that  in  the  Franco-Prussian  War 
the  losses  in  killed  and  mortally  wounded  in  the  vic 
torious  German  Army  were  only  three  and  one-tenth 
per  cent  of  the  whole,  while  those  in  the  Union  Army 
of  the  War  of  1861  amounted  to  four  and  seven-tenths 
per  cent;  and  that  the  percentage  of  such  losses  among 
the  Vermont  troops  was  greater  than  that  of  any  other 
State,  excepting  Pennsylvania,  and  amounted  to  six 
and  eight-tenths  per  cent.  And  may  I  add  the  simple 
statement  that  Waterbury's  loss  was  more  than  eight 
per  cent,  and  that  in  a  single  year,  in  the  campaigns 
of  1864  alone,  that  town  lost  in  killed  or  mortally 

81 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

wounded  six  and  six-tenths  per  cent  of  all  the  men 
who  were  credited  to  her  quota  during  the  entire  period 
of  the  War.  On  fourteen  different  occasions  during 
that  never-to-be-forgotten  year  the  bells  tolled  the 
announcement  that  another  one  of  Waterbury's  sons 
had  given  his  life  for  his  country.  I  could  speak  of  the 
horrors  of  that  dark  period,  when  fathers  and  mothers 
mourned  the  loss  of  manly  sons;  when  wives  mourned 
for  their  husbands  and  wept  over  their  fatherless 
children,  but  this  is  neither  the  time  nor  the  place  to 
do  so. 

"In  view  of  all  these  considerations,  Mr.  President, 
I  have  felt  justified  in  speaking  not  only  for  the  imme 
diate  members  of  the  Wells  family,  but  also  for  this 
community,  in  all  whose  interests  its  members  had  a 
conspicuous  part  for  a  century  of  time.  And  so,  as  a 
member  of  this  community,  I  can  do  no  less  than 
express  its  keen  sense  of  appreciation  of  the  great 
honor  which  Vermont  has  done  the  town  of  Water- 
bury,  as  well  as  General  Wells  and  his  associates  of  the 
Vermont  Cavalry,  in  placing  upon  this  field  this  im 
posing  statue  of  its  most  distinguished  soldier." 

The  air  "Dixie,"  a  graceful  compliment  to  the  men 
in  gray,  preceded  the  presentation  of  General  Law. 

Introducing  General  Law: 

"I  fully  appreciate  the  anxiety  of  those  who  are 
familiar  with  the  program  arranged  by  General  Peck 
to  hear  the  next  speaker.  They  want  to  look  into  the 
face  of  the  man  who  met  and  resisted  the  charge  of 
Wells  and  his  daring  troopers.  They  and  you  want 
to  look  into  the  face  of  the  only  surviving  Major- 


MAJOR-GENERAL  E.  M.  LAW 

Commanding  Brigade  and  Hood's  Division,  Longstreet's  Corps 
Army  of  Northern  Virginia 


IN  AFFECTIONATE  MEMORY  OF 

General  of  the  Confederate  Army.  You  are  anxious 
to  hear  from  his  lips  the  impression  made  on  him  when 
he  witnessed  the  onrush  of  this  heroic  band. 

"General  Law,  standing  here  you  will  look  into  the 
faces  of  the  daughter  and  son  of  the  man  who  led  this 
heroic  charge;  you  will  look  into  the  face  of  the  brother 
of  General  Wells;  you  will  look  into  the  faces  of  many 
of  those  grizzled  veterans  who  went  forward  in  that 
charge.  Looking  into  the  faces  of  these  children  and 
that  brother;  looking  into  the  faces  of  these  brave 
men,  your  thoughts  will  go  back  fifty  years  to  the 
time  when,  on  this  very  spot,  you  stood  in  front  of 
your  brigade  making  dispositions  to  resist  this  charge. 

"General  Law,  being  then,  as  now,  a  perfect  type  of 
Southern  chivalry,  your  eyes  must  have  been  moistened 
with  tears  and  your  heart  must  have  been  filled  with 
pity  for  the  certain  fate  that  awaited  these  brave  men, 
a  fate  you  would  gladly  have  averted  could  it  have 
been  done  with  honor. 

"Comrade  Law,  every  survivor  of  the  First  Vermont 
Cavalry  rejoices  that  your  life  has  been  spared  and 
that  you  are  here  to-day  to  participate  in  the  unveiling 
of  this  monument.  We  welcome  you  to  this  ceremony. 
We  take  you  in  our  arms  and  to  our  hearts.  I  now 
have  the  pleasure  of  introducing  Major-General  Law." 

"Mr.  Chairman  and  Comrades  of  the  First  Vermont 
Cavalry  Association: 

"Fifty  years  ago  to-day,  and  at  this  very  hour,  we 
met  on  this  ground  in  mortal  strife  in  the  greatest 
battle  of  modern  times;  to-day  we  meet  as  comrades, 
each  ready  and  willing  to  acknowledge  the  devotion  to 

84 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

duty,  the  heroism,  and  the  patriotism  of  the  other.  If 
there  is  any  rivalry  between  us,  Federals  and  Con 
federates,  it  is  in  devotion  to  a  reunited  country  and  in 
thankfulness  that  we  are  all  citizens  of  the  greatest 
and  freest  country  in  the  world.  Men  who  have  given 
and  taken  hard  knocks  always  respect  each  other,  and 
when  the  kindly  hand  of  time  has  smoothed  away  all 
passion  and  bitterness,  the  true  spirit  of  comradeship 
follows  as  surely  'as  the  night  follows  day,'  and  thus  it 
is  that  the  old  soldiers  of  the  blue  and  the  gray  meet 
here  to-day  where  they  fought  each  other  fifty  years 
ago,  not  as  enemies,  but  as  friends — not  as  strangers, 
but  as  comrades. 

"The  battle  of  Gettysburg  was  the  culminating 
point  of  the  Civil  War  which  marked  an  epoch  in 
American  history,  yet  I  feel  justified  in  the  assertion 
that  the  meeting  of  the  two  hostile  armies  on  this 
field  fifty  years  ago  was  scarcely  more  important  in  its 
results  than  the  meeting  now  being  held  by  those  same 
armies  on  this  same  field  will  be  in  its  influence  on  the 
American  people.  The  one  saved  the  Union,  the  other 
will  bind  it  together  in  bonds  far  stronger  than  armed 
force  or  military  power — the  bonds  of  mutual  esteem, 
friendship,  and  brotherhood.  Scenes  such  as  are  being 
enacted  on  this  field  to-day  have  no  parallel  in  history, 
and  could  not  have  occurred  anywhere  else  than  in 
America. 

"At  your  kind  invitation,  my  friends,  I  am  here 
to-day  to  assist  in  the  dedication  of  a  beautiful  memo 
rial  to  your  comrades  of  the  First  Vermont  Cavalry 
who  took  the  most  prominent  part  in  one  of  the  most 
striking  incidents  of  the  battle.  On  this  very  ground, 

85 


IN  AFFECTIONATE  MEMORY  OF 

fifty  years  ago,  that  gallant  regiment  was  hurled 
against  the  line  of  my  right  flank,  which  extended  from 
the  main  line  on  the  slopes  of  the  Round  Top  to  the 
Emmettsburg  Road.  This  flanking  line  was  composed 
almost  entirely  of  infantry  drawn  from  my  main  line,  and 
formed  a  considerable  angle  to  it.  The  appearance  of 
General  Kilpatrick's  division  of  two  brigades  of  Federal 
cavalry,  Merritt's  and  Farnsworth's,  on  that  flank 
during  the  forenoon  of  the  third  day  of  the  battle, 
caused  me  great  uneasiness.  Though  two  of  my  bat 
teries  had  been  withdrawn  to  take  part  in  the  grand 
artillery  attack  that  preceded  General  Pickett's  fatal 
charge  on  Cemetery  Ridge,  I  still  had  at  my  disposal 
twelve  pieces  of  splendid  artillery,  and  these  I  arranged 
in  such  a  way  as  to  command  thoroughly  every  part 
of  the  line  threatened  by  the  Federal  cavalry. 

"General  Kilpatrick  at  once  commenced  operations 
by  attacking  my  flanking  line  with  dismounted  skir 
mishers  of  Merritt's  Brigade,  continuing  this  movement 
steadily  to  my  right  until  the  line  was  stretched  out  to 
a  considerable  distance  beyond  where  it  crossed  the 
Emmettsburg  Road.  This  stretching  process  con 
tinued  until  I  became  fearful  that  my  line  beyond  that 
road  would  soon  become  so  weak  that  it  might  be 
easily  broken  by  a  bold  cavalry  attack.  To  avoid  this 
I  withdrew  two  regiments  from  the  main  line  on  the 
slopes  of  the  Round  Tops,  and  leading  them  rapidly 
to  my  extreme  right  across  the  Emmettsburg  Road, 
attacked  Merritt's  reserve,  and  then,  wheeling  on  the 
flank  of  his  line,  'doubled  it  back'  to  that  road  just 
beyond  Kern's  house.  Here  I  left  the  two  regiments 
engaged  in  this  movement,  together  with  the  Ninth 

86 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

Georgia  Regiment  that  had  been  previously  posted 
there,  under  the  command  of  Captain  George  Hillyer, 
who  had  done  conspicuous  service  during  the  battle 
and  who  is  with  us  here  to-day  to  take  part  in  doing 
honor  to  the  men  who  fought  against  him  so  gallantly 
fifty  years  ago. 

"Being  relieved  for  the  present  at  least  from  the 
pressure  of  Merritt's  Brigade  on  my  right,  and  having 
reduced  the  length  of  the  line  to  more  manageable 
dimensions,  I  turned  my  attention  to  that  part  of  the 
line  threatened  by  Farnsworth's  Brigade,  which  faced 
the  left  front  of  my  flanking  line  extending  from  the 
lower  slope  of  Round  Top  toward  the  Emmettsburg 
Road.  I  had  not  long  to  wait.  The  rush  of  the  Federal 
horsemen,  and  the  crash  of  the  musketry  from  the 
Confederate  infantry,  came  with  startling  suddenness, 
and  as  I  watched  the  fight  with  intense  interest  and 
no  small  degree  of  anxiety,  I  saw  that  portion  of  the 
Federal  line  that  had  attacked  directly  in  front  of  the 
First  Texas  Regiment,  and  had  ridden  up  to  the  very 
muzzles  of  their  guns,  recoil  and  finally  fall  back  into 
the  cover  of  the  woods  through  which  they  had  ad 
vanced.  Further  to  my  left,  however,  and  nearer  the 
foot  of  Round  Top,  at  a  point  which  I  recognize  as 
the  very  ground  on  which  we  stand  to-day,  a  body  of 
the  Federal  horsemen  broke  through  the  line  and  rode 
boldly  down  the  Plum  Run  Valley  directly  in  rear  of 
my  main  line  on  the  slopes  of  the  Round  Tops.  At 
that  time  I  did  not  know,  of  course,  to  what  command 
they  belonged,  but  when  the  fatal  charge  had  ended 
I  learned  that  these  brave  men  who  had  ridden  so 
gallantly  into  the  jaws  of  death  were  a  battalion  of  the 

87 


IN  AFFECTIONATE  MEMORY  OF 

First  Vermont  Cavalry  of  Farnsworth's  Brigade,  Kil- 
patrick's  Division. 

"The  moment  was  a  critical  one.  This  irruption  in 
the  rear  of  my  main  line,  if  promptly  followed  up  by 
an  attack  of  Kilpatrick's  entire  force,  might  produce 
disastrous  results  if  not  met  with  the  utmost  prompt 
ness  and  decision.  The  cavalry  had  scarcely  broken  in 
before  I  sent  a  staff  officer  post-haste  to  my  main  line 
on  the  slope  of  Little  Round  Top  with  orders  to  detach 
the  first  regiment  he  should  come  to  on  that  line,  face 
it  to  the  rear,  and  come  in  a  run  to  throw  itself  across 
the  path  of  the  cavalry  as  they  charged  up  the  Plum 
Run  Valley.  This  movement  was  executed  with  almost 
incredible  promptness,  and  the  Vermonters  soon  faced 
a  withering  fire  from  the  Fourth  Alabama  Infantry, 
which  was  the  regiment  brought  down  from  the  main 
line  under  my  order.  Recoiling  from  this  fire  with 
fearful  loss,  they  turned  to  their  left  and  rear,  and  rode 
directly  up  the  slope  toward  where  I  was  stationed  near 
one  of  my  batteries. 

"In  the  meantime  I  had  ordered  the  reserve  of  the 
Ninth  Georgia,  under  Captain  Hillyer,  which  I  have 
already  referred  to  as  being  on  picket  near  Kern's 
house  on  the  Emmettsburg  Road,  to  come  in  a  run  to 
the  support  of  the  batteries,  one  of  which  I  had  shifted 
a  short  distance  so  as  to  face  the  approaching  cavalry. 
Here  again  the  brave  Vermonters,  now  fearfully  re 
duced  in  numbers,  faced  a  storm  of  fire  against  which 
mere  human  courage  could  avail  nothing,  and,  turning 
again,  and  for  the  last  time,  toward  the  spot  where  the 
charge  had  begun,  the  remnant  which  survived  the 
fiery  ordeal  through  which  they  had  passed  rode  back 

88  ' 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

into  the  woods  in  the  direction  of  their  own  line. 
During  the  whole  of  this  brief  but  bloody  drama,  which 
came  directly  under  my  own  eyes,  I  recall  distinctly 
two  conspicuous  figures  riding  side  by  side  at  the  head 
of  the  charging  column.  One  I  afterward  learned  was 
General  E.  J.  Farns worth,  who  was  killed  near  the 
close  of  the  charge;  and  the  other,  Major  William  Wells, 
commander  of  the  battalion  of  the  First  Vermont 
Cavalry  that  made  the  charge,  who  afterward  by  con 
spicuous  service  rose  to  the  rank  of  Major-General  and 
whose  memory  you  honor  to-day  in  the  striking  like 
ness  of  that  handsome  statue  which  crowns  the  memo 
rial  you  have  dedicated  to  him  and  his  gallant 
comrades.  General  Wells  commanded  as  brave  a  body 
of  horsemen  as  ever  drew  sabre. 

"I  have  gone  somewhat  into  detail,  my  friends,  in 
order  that  you,  the  survivors,  the  friends  and  fellow 
citizens  of  these  men,  may  know,  from  the  lips  of  one 
whose  stern  duty  it  was  to  destroy  them  if  possible, 
that  their  gallantry  excited  the  admiration  even  of 
their  foes,  who  now,  as  friends  and  comrades,  join 
with  you  in  honoring  their  memory. 

"It  has  been  the  general  opinion  until  very  recently 
that  Pickett's  famous  charge  on  Cemetery  Ridge  on 
the  third  day  was  the  pivotal  point  of  the  battle  of 
Gettysburg,  but  the  truth  of  history  is  asserting  itself, 
and  it  is  now  being  recognized  by  all  intelligent  military 
critics  that  the  ragged  mountain  spur  known  as  Xittle 
Round  Top/  which  rises  just  yonder  behind  us,  was 
the  real  key  to  the  battlefield,  and  that  the  struggle 
for  its  possession  on  the  afternoon  of  the  second  day 
really  decided  the  fate  of  the  battle.  History  has  not 

89 


IN  AFFECTIONATE  MEMORY  OF 

yet  recognized,  however,  the  importance  of  what  has 
always  been  classed  among  the  minor  incidents  of  the 
great  struggle,  but  which  might  easily  have  become  of 
the  most  vital  importance  to  the  Confederate  army. 
That  incident  was  the  breach  made  in  my  flanking  line 
by  the  First  Vermont  Cavalry,  which  I  have  just  been 
describing.  Pickett's  fatal  attack  had  just  been  re 
pulsed;  my  flanking  line,  which  covered  the  right-rear 
of  our  army,  had  been  stretched  to  its  utmost  limit, 
being  reduced  to  a  mere  skirmish  line  in  many  places. 
If  under  these  circumstances  General  Kilpatrick  had 
thrown  Farnsworth's  entire  brigade  through  the  gap 
in  my  line  where  the  First  Vermont  Cavalry  had  en 
tered,  and  at  the  same  time  had  attacked  with  the  full 
strength  of  Merritt's  Brigade  up  the  Emmettsburg 
Road,  on  which  it  was  in  position,  the  result  must  have 
been  disastrous  to  that  wing  of  our  army  at  least. 

"I  fully  realized  the  critical  nature  of  the  situation 
and  bent  every  energy  toward  preparing  for  the  ex 
pected  attack.  That  General  Longstreet  also  felt  the 
gravest  anxiety  as  to  the  result  of  the  fighting  on  this 
flank  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  he  rode  hastily  over 
from  the  center,  where  he  was  assisting  in  rallying  and 
re-forming  the  troops  that  had  taken  part  in  Pickett's 
attack,  and,  with  the  most  marked  expression  of  relief 
in  his  tone  and  manner,  warmly  congratulated  me  on 
the  manner  in  which  the  situation  had  been  handled. 
The  charge  of  the  Vermonters  was  then  over,  and  the 
heavier  attack  which  was  expected  to  follow  had  not 
been  made. 

"And  now,  my  friends,  let  me  in  conclusion  repeat 
that  true  soldiers  always  respect  each  other,  it  matters 

90 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

not  on  which  side  of  the  battle  line  they  may  have 
stood.  You  did  your  duty  as  you  saw  it,  and  we  did 
ours.  There  is  no  monopoly  of  heroism  on  either  side. 
Nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago,  in  an  address  before 
the  Association  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  in 
Richmond,  I  predicted  that  the  time  would  come  when 
the  heroism  of  both  victors  and  vanquished  in  the 
great  struggle  between  the  sections  would  be  claimed 
as  the  common  heritage  of  the  American  people.  The 
time  has  come.  The  'bloody  chasm'  created  by  pesti 
lent  politicians  for  selfish  ends  has  been  closed  forever 
by  the  men  who  fought  the  battles,  who  suffered  and 
died  for  principle,  and  who  illustrated  the  heroism  of 
the  American  soldier  as  that  of  no  other  soldier  of  any 
army  of  any  other  country  has  ever  been  illustrated 
in  the  annals  of  time. 

"For  many  years  a  steady  and  increasing  tide  of 
invasion  has  been  sweeping  into  the  South  from  the 
North  and  East,  but  invaders  come  without  the  'pomp 
and  circumstance  of  war.'  Their  spears  have  been 
turned  into  plowshares  and  their  swords  into  pruning 
hooks,  and  they  march  under  the  white  banner  of  peace 
and  progress.  In  my  own  State  the  influx  of  old 
Federal  soldiers  and  their  families  has  been  especially 
marked,  and  indicates  that  it  will  not  be  long  before 
those  who  once  wore  the  blue  will  be  equal  in  numbers 
to  the  former  wearers  of  the  gray.  They  come  to  find 
homes  among  us,  and  we  welcome  them  as  friends 
and  co-workers  with  us  in  developing  the  fairest  land 
on  God's  footstool,  where  they  are  finding  peace  and 
plenty  in  their  declining  years  and  the  promise  of 
prosperity  and  happiness  for  those  who  will  come 

91 


IN  AFFECTIONATE  MEMORY  OF 

after  them.  'Away  down  South'  in  Florida  we  have 
long  since  realized  that  the  war  is  over,  and  that  all  of 
us,  blue  and  gray  alike,  are  loyal  Floridians  and  true 
Americans. 

"No  incident  of  a  long  and  eventful  life  has  ever 
caused  me  such  mingled  emotions  and  vivid  memories 
as  this  meeting  with  you,  my  comrades  of  the  First 
Vermont  Cavalry  Association,  on  this  historic  spot 
to-day.  The  warm  welcome  you  have  given  me;  the 
meeting  face  to  face  with  the  daughter,  son,  and 
brother  of  that  splendid  soldier,  General  William 
Wells,  whose  memory,  and  that  of  the  brave  men 
whom  they  led,  we  are  here  to  honor;  the  cordial  spirit 
of  comradeship  which  fills  the  very  atmosphere  around 
us,  have  all  touched  my  heart  to  its  very  depths,  and 
their  memory  will  remain  with  us  while  life  shall  last. 
It  is  not  probable  that  we  shall  ever  meet  again,  but 
when  we  have  returned  to  our  several  homes,  you  to 
the  verdant  hills  of  'The  Green  Mountain  State,'  and  I 
to  the  smiling  shores  of  'The  Sunshine  State,'  memory 
will  often  bring  us  back  to  this  day,  this  meeting,  this 
spot,  where  after  fifty  years  of  patient  waiting,  'Mercy 
and  Truth  have  met  together,'  Patriotism  and  Peace 
have  embraced  each  other." 

Introducing  General  Felix  H.  Robertson: 
"During  this  battle  a  Texas  battery  was  commanded 
by  a  young  Confederate  officer,  Captain  Robertson. 
Captain  Robertson  was  a  son  of  General  Robertson, 
who  commanded  a  Confederate  brigade  of  Hood's 
Division,  and  was  fighting  side  by  side  with  Law's 
Brigade  on  the  afternoon  of  the  third  of  July.  Com- 

92 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

rades,    it    gives    me    pleasure    to    introduce     General 
Robertson." 

"Mr.  President  and  Members  of  First  Vermont 
Cavalry  Association  and  Ladies  and  Gentlemen: 

"Since  its  organization  I  have  been  familiar  with 
Hood's  Division  of  the  Confederate  Army  of  Northern 
Virginia;  and  if  any  cavalry  commander  should  have 
asked  my  professional  opinion  as  to  the  advisability 
of  charging  that  Division  with  one  regiment  of  cavalry 
I  could  only  have  repeated  the  advice  which  Punch  gave 
to  the  two  young  people  who  wrote  to  Punch  asking 
whether  they  should  get  married.  Punch  answered  in 
one  word,  'Don't.'  All  who  know  the  ground  over 
which  two  battalions  of  your  Regiment  were  ordered 
to  charge  from  this  spot  fifty  years  ago,  and  the  sol 
dierly  qualities  of  the  troops  against  which  that  charge 
was  made,  must  conclude  that  the  order  which  from 
this  spot  started  your  comrades  unsupported  on  such 
a  charge  was  an  inexcusable  military  blunder.  But 
the  fault  of  giving  that  order  lies  not  on  the  First 
Vermont  Cavalry.  All  honor  to  that  splendid  Regi 
ment  for  its  prompt,  heroic  effort  to  effect  the  purpose 
which  alone  could  justify  such  an  order!  Napoleon  in 
Spain  ordered  his  Polish  Lancers  to  charge  a  Battery 
on  the  hills  above,  and  that  charge  was  successful.  A 
broad,  smooth  road  led  up  to  that  Battery,  and  it  was 
defended  by  Spanish  Irregulars.  Here,  over  this 
ground  strewn  with  granite  boulders,  thickly  studded 
with  trees  and  covered  with  undergrowth,  your  com 
rades  had  to  advance  upon  trained  Confederate  soldiers 
over  ground  where  it  was  impossible  to  keep  an  align- 

93 


BRIGADIER-GENERAL  FELIX  H.  ROBERTSON 
Commanding  Cavalry  Brigade  in  Wheeler's  Corps,  C.  S.  Army  of  Tennessee 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

ment,  and  upon  an  enemy  skilled  in  the  use  of  rifles 
and  in  taking  every  advantage  of  cover,  well  protected 
by  boulders,  trees,  and  stone  fences.  There  Napoleon 
had  to  use  all  his  powers  of  command,  entreaty,  and 
promises  of  reward  to  start  his  unwilling  cavalry  on 
its  charge.  Here  your  comrades,  without  hesitation, 
promptly  and  cheerfully  obeyed  the  first  order  to 
charge.  It  is  an  honor  to  claim  such  soldiers  as  coun 
trymen.  That  beautiful  monument  just  unveiled  fitly 
typifies  such  a  splendid  manifestation  of  soldierly 
virtue  as  was  your  charge. 

"Among  the  great  number  of  monuments  which 
stand  along  what  was  General  Meade's  line  during  the 
Great  Battles  of  fifty  years  ago  none  is  so  beautiful  or 
better  deserved  than  that  splendid  testimonial  you 
here  dedicate  to  your  comrade,  General  Wells. 

"Alike  a  credit  to  the  artist  who  achieved  it,  and  to 
you,  the  surviving  comrades  of  the  First  Vermont 
Cavalry,  that  monument,  instinct  with  soldierly  ac 
tion,  fitly  commemorates  an  event  that  worthily  illus 
trates  the  best  achievements  of  American  Soldiers. 

"I  know  how  you  old  soldiers  feel,  and  I  know  that 
you  are  glad  to  pass  your  remaining  days  in  peace, 
and  that  no  more  will  you  be  called  'to  set  a  squadron 
in  the  field.' 

"There  are  two  things  about  our  great  war  that  im 
press  me  more  strongly  the  better  I  am  able  to  appre 
ciate  the  wealth  and  power  of  the  North  and  the 
poverty  and  weakness  of  the  South.  First,  why  did 
our  statesmen  permit  us  to  enter  into  a  war  with  such 
an  adversary?  Second,  how  did  the  South,  beginning 
the  war  with  no  army,  no  established  government,  no 

95 


IN  AFFECTIONATE  MEMORY  OF 

navy,  no  treasury,  keep  such  a  war  going  four  years? 
Since  no  great  fact  can  exist  without  adequate  cause, 
I  declare  to  you  that  the  only  cause  to  which  that 
great  effect  can  be  attributed  is  that  there  was  at  the 
head  of  the  Confederate  Government  the  greatest 
statesman  of  our  time — Jefferson  Davis!  I  know  that 
you  Yanks  are  not  prepared  to  agree  to  that  state 
ment,  but  as  honest  men  you  must  seek  to  reach  cor 
rect  conclusions  on  all  subjects.  If  you  desire  to  reach 
sound  conclusions  about  Mr.  Davis  you  must  fairly 
consider  the  circumstances  by  which  he  was  sur 
rounded — the  scanty  means  at  his  command  and  the 
enormous  forces  arrayed  against  him.  As  long  as 
there  shall  remain  in  Vermont  any  of  the  descendants 
of  the  men  who,  fifty  years  ago,  from  this  spot  started 
on  that  memorable  charge,  I  shall  confidently  expect 
from  them  a  just — yes, — a  generous  recognition  of  the 
high  qualities  Jefferson  Davis  manifested  as  President 
of  the  Southern  Confederacy.  Nor  will  he  suffer  in  the 
opinion  of  your  descendants  when  they  know  how 
firmly  he  adhered,  in  his  high  office,  to  the  principles 
he  professed  before  he  became  President;  his  scrupulous 
observance  in  all  his  acts  of  his  official  oath,  and  the 
courage  and  dignity  with  which  he  met  all  his  reverses. 
The  overthrow  of  the  Confederacy  should  no  more 
operate  to  deprive  Jefferson  Davis  of  the  fame  justly 
due  for  his  many  high  qualities  displayed  as  President 
of  the  Confederacy  than  should  the  heroic  failure  of 
the  First  Vermont  Cavalry  in  its  charge  on  Hood's 
Division  warrant  us  in  mutilating  that  beautiful  monu 
ment  to  General  Wells  and  denying  to  you,  the  sur 
vivors,  the  right  that  you  have  noble  earned  to  be 

96 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

called  Heroes  worthy  of  the  affectionate  regard  of  all 
your  countrymen." 

Introducing  Colonel  John  McElroy: 

"Ladies  and  Comrades: 

"I  am  going  to  call  as  the  next  speaker  a  gentleman 
who  is  known  and  loved  by  every  surviving  soldier  of 
the  Union  Army,  one  who  through  the  columns  of  the 
'National  Tribune'  has  brought  happiness  to  the  home 
and  fireside  of  every  man  who  wore  the  blue,  a  man 
who,  when  fifteen  years  of  age,  served  in  the  Sixteenth 
Illinois  Cavalry,  a  man  who,  as  a  boy,  endured  the 
horrors  of  prison  life  in  Anderson ville.  That  boy  and 
this  man  is  Colonel  John  McElroy,  editor  of  the 
'National  Tribune,'  whom  it  is  now  my  pleasure  to 
introduce." 

"Mr.  President,  Ladies,  and  Gentlemen: 

"In  the  countless  centuries  since  the  sword  began  to 
devour,  myriads  of  flags  and  standards  have  been 
flaunted  in  the  light  of  day. 

"All  these  were  born  of  the  lust  of  greed,  the  arro 
gance  of  power. 

"Our  own  stainless  banner  is  the  only  one  among  all 
those  tens  of  thousands  which  was  conceived  in  liberty, 
born  to  assert  a  principle,  and  supported  with  exalted 
courage  to  maintain  that  principle. 

"When  our  forefathers  set  it  up  as  the  symbol  of  the 
strange  new  political  doctrine  that  the  supreme  func 
tion  of  government  is  to  secure  right  and  justice  for 
every  man,  even  the  lowliest,  they  solemnly  pledged 
their  lives,  their  fortunes,  and  their  sacred  honor  to 

97 


COLONEL  JOHN  MCELROY 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

the    maintenance    of     the    principle    the    Flag    repre 
sented. 

"Never  since  history  began  has  a  pledge  been  kept 
with  such  unfaltering  faith,  such  an  unparalleled  sacri 
fice  of  life  and  fortune. 

"To  make  that  Flag  mean  all  that  the  fathers 
pledged  it  to  mean — far  more  men  have  bravely  died 
on  land  and  sea  than  have  fallen  under  all  the  banners 
now  floating  in  Europe. 

"Briton  and  Gaul,  German  and  Frank,  Russian  and 
Turk  have  shaken  the  earth  with  their  gigantic  con 
tests,  but  not  so  many  men  have  fallen  under  all  their 
banners  as  have  gone  down  to  valiant  death  under 
ours  in  the  one  hundred  and  thirty -seven  years  of  its 
existence. 

"This  cannot  be  wholly  accounted  for  by  the  Amer 
icans  being  an  heroic  composite  of  the  chief  fighting 
races  of  the  world — the  English,  Irish,  Scotch,  Dutch, 
Germans,  and  French. 

"A  vastly  stronger  reason  is  that  the  men  under 
our  Flag  were  always  fighting  for  the  principle  it  em 
bodied — for  a  principle  imbued  into  them,  and  made 
the  law  of  their  lives  by  the  churches,  schools,  and 
homes  they  had  left.  A  something  for  which  their 
fathers  and  mothers  prayed,  and  for  which  their  sisters, 
wives,  and  sweethearts  ardently  longed. 

"It  was  something  dearer  to  them  than  life  itself. 
To  achieve  success  for  that  principle,  hardships  were 
welcomed  as  a  joy,  and  danger  courted  as  a  bride. 

"What  places  our  common  American  manhood  upon 
the  pinnacle  of  humanity  is  that  we  are  able  to  say 
truthfully  of  it: 

99 


IN  AFFECTIONATE  MEMORY  OF 

"So  near  is  grandeur  to  our  dust, 

So  nigh  is  God  to  man, 
That  when  Duty  whispers  low,  'Thou  must/ 

The  youth  replies,  T  can.' 

"A  sad  Oriental  proverb  says  that  grass  never 
springs  again  from  a  spot  trodden  by  the  hoof  of  the 
Sultan's  horse. 

"We  can  make  a  glorious  antithesis  to  this  by  saying 
that  wherever  the  American  soldier  has  fought,  justice 
and  righteousness  have  become  the  enduring  law. 
Churches,  schools,  and  homes  have  sprung  up,  and 
there  white-winged  Peace  has  made  her  permanent 
dwelling  place. 

"The  character  the  American  soldier  has  always 
displayed  can  be  illustrated  by  a  single  chapter  from 
the  voluminous  history  of  the  greatest  war  which  ever 
reddened  the  earth. 

"In  May,  1864,  an  army  of  one  hundred  and  twenty 
thousand  American  soldiers  crossed  the  Rapidan  and 
clutched  in  mortal  struggle  another  army  of  eighty 
thousand  American  soldiers.  The  advantage  of  posi 
tion  fairly  equalized  the  forces. 

"For  eleven  months,  fiercely  swirling  with  hate  and 
manslaughter,  that  death  grapple  never  slackened  for 
an  instant. 

"For  eleven  months  the  relentless  rifle  sought  its 
victims  day  and  night.  The  angry  cannon  never 
ceased  its  hideous  bellowing. 

"The  gloomy  labyrinths  of  the  wilderness  became 
an  ocean  of  flame,  scorching  the  living,  burning  up  the 
dead  and  wounded,  but  the  fury  of  the  Blue  and  Gray 
rose  above  that  of  the  flames  as  they  charged  one 

100 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

another  through  the  stifling  reek  like  demons  in  some 
infernal  combat  in  the  underworld. 

"For  eleven  long  months  the  march  of  the  Con 
federates  was  marked  by  a  trail  of  thickly-lying  mounds 
of  new-made  graves.  Every  house  in  Virginia  for  a 
hundred  miles  to  the  rear  was  crowded  with  the 
wounded  sent  back  from  the  front. 

"For  eleven  long  months  the  red  earth  in  the  rear  of 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac  daily  received  a  noble  tribute 
of  hundreds  of  the  first-born  of  loyal  homes,  and  even 
the  dearly -loved  little  Benjamin  of  the  flock.  Every 
steamer  for  the  North  was  filled  with  a  sad  load  of  the 
terribly  wounded. 

"Rank,  birth,  and  wealth  all  fell  alike  before  the 
undiscriminating  musket.  The  same  red  clay  was 
thrown  over  the  Major-General's  double  stars  and  the 
Corporal's  double  stripes.  Professors  in  colleges  and 
humble  day-laborers  were  buried  in  their  coarse 
blankets  side  by  side. 

"But  the  thinning  battalions  of  both  sides,  marching 
into  other  fights  from  their  yet  warm  dead,  struck  at 
each  other  with  the  same  fierce  courage  of  their  first 
battles. 

"Lee's  decimated  brigades  poured  out  their  blood  as 
lavishly  at  Spottsylvania  as  Meade's  shrunken  ranks 
did  at  Cold  Harbor. 

"The  awful  slaughter  of  the  Union  troops  at  the 
Crater  was  matched  by  the  sweeping  destruction  of 
Gordon's  Confederates  at  Fort  Stedman. 

"In  the  last  battle  the  remnants  of  the  Confederate 
Army  turned  at  Sailors  Creek  and  struck  valiantly  at 
their  pursuers  as  Pickett  had  charged  at  Gettysburg. 

101 


IN  AFFECTIONATE  MEMORY  OF 

"The  scarred,  battered,  and  depleted  Second  and 
Sixth  Corps  rushed  as  furiously  at  the  obstinate  Con 
federates  as  they  had  charged  the  blazing  heights  of 
Fredericksburg. 

"The  American  soldier  had  shown  himself  the 
greatest  ever  marshaled  in  his  exalted  courage  that  no 
hardship,  no  long-continued  strain,  no  bloody  defeat, 
no  terror  of  death  could  quell  or  even  dampen.  He 
rose  superior  to  the  worst  that  fate  could  do. 

"We  can  say  with  confidence  that  no  other  than  an 
American  army  could  have  endured  unshaken  the 
terrific  hammering  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia 
received  from  the  Rapidan  to  the  Appomattox.  We 
say  this  with  conviction,  because  in  all  the  rolling 
centuries  no  other  army  ever  did  endure  such  a  test 
of  its  mettle. 

"We  can  say  without  fear  of  contradiction  that  no 
other  than  an  American  army  could  have  made  such  a 
campaign  as  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  did  from  the 
Rapidan  to  the  Appomattox.  Every  man  whose  eyes 
were  gladdened  by  the  flag  of  truce  on  that  fateful 
April  9  could  look  back  with  moistened  lids  on  five 
comrades  who  had  started  with  him,  but  were  now  in 
hospitals  of  pain  or  sleeping  in  Virginia's  clay. 

"Every  mile  that  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  marched 
had  been  crimsoned  by  the  blood  of  thousands  of  its 
best  and  bravest,  every  rod  of  ground  it  gained  cost 
the  dole  of  some  precious  life.  But  it  never  released 
the  iron  clutch  upon  the  throat  of  the  Confederate 
Army.  Discouraged  by  no  failures,  appalled  by  no 
slaughters,  relentless  as  death,  it  clung  to  its  mighty 
purpose  until  it  wrung  victory  out  of  adverse  fate. 

102 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

"We  can  claim  this  surpassing  glory  for  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac  without  fear  of  contradiction,  because 
neither  Europe  nor  Asia  ever  produced  an  army  with 
such  a  record  for  endurance,  courage,  and  fortitude. 

"When  we  recall  Napoleon  overrunning  Germany  with 
less  loss  on  both  sides  than  occurred  in  the  Wilderness, 
when  we  remember  that  Germany  overcame  the  great 
martial  nation  of  France  with  less  fighting  and  less  loss 
than  in  the  campaign  against  Richmond,  we  get  some 
comparison  whereby  to  estimate  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac's  towering  greatness. 

"We  are  now  entering  upon  the  period  when  the 
people  look  back  upon  the  tremendous  war  with  glow 
ing  pride  in  the  exalted  American  manhood  on  both 
sides,  displayed  in  every  field,  while 

"The  mighty  mother  with  her  tears 
Turns  the  pages  of  her  battle  years, 
Lamenting  all  her  sons." 

Introducing  Colonel  Heman  Allen: 

"It  is  a  pleasure  now  to  introduce  one  who  was  my 
boyhood  friend,  a  man  who  served  with  distinction  as  a 
member  of  that  famous  Thirteenth  Vermont  Infantry; 
a  man  whose  admiration  for  Chaplain  Woodward, 
known  as  the  fighting  Chaplain  of  the  First  Vermont 
Cavalry,  was  so  great  that  recently,  at  his  own  ex 
pense,  he  erected  a  monument  to  Chaplain  Woodward 
in  the  town  of  Westford,  the  boyhood  home  of  both. 
This  man  is  Colonel  Heman  Allen,  Gettysburg  com 
missioner  for  Vermont,  who  will  now  address  you." 

"Mr.  President,  Ladies,  and  Gentlemen: 

"One  of  the  distinguished  officers  of  this  splendid 

103 


COLONEL  HEMAN  W.  ALLEN 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

Regiment  was  the  Reverend  John  H.  Woodward,  its 
first  chaplain.  At  the  time  the  Regiment  was  raised, 
Mr.  Wroodward  was  serving  in  the  Legislature  of  Ver 
mont  as  one  of  the  Senators  from  Chittenden  County. 
He  was  elected  Chaplain,  resigned  from  the  Senate, 
accepted  the  appointment  and  joined  the  Regiment; 
served  for  nearly  two  years  most  acceptably  as  its 
spiritual  advisor  and  teacher.  He  was  popular  with 
the  officers  and  men,  ever  ready  to  be  of  help,  ac 
companying  the  troops  in  many  of  their  raids  and 
reconnaissances.  So  active  was  he  that  he  became 
known  as  the  fighting  Chaplain  of  the  First  Vermont 
Cavalry. 

"In  1910  the  town  of  Westford,  his  home  town, 
voted  to  erect  a  monument  in  honor  of  the  'Boys  in 
Blue'  who  marched  from  that  town  to  the  battlefields 
of  the  Civil  Wrar.  A  handsome  monument  was  erected 
and  dedicated  on  July  4,  1912.  This  monument  is 
surmounted  by  a  life-size  statue  of  Chaplain  Wood 
ward,  who  served  as  Pastor  of  the  Congregational 
Church  of  that  village  for  a  period  of  twenty-six  years. 
The  statue  was  presented  by  two  friends,  natives  of 
Westford,  his  former  parishioners. 

"Mr.  W  oodward  has  passed  to  his  reward,  mourned 
by  his  comrades  and  those  who  knew  him,  leaving 
behind  him  a  record  of  patriotism,  good  living,  and 
service  to  mankind." 

Introducing  Colonel  Henry  O.  Clark: 

"Few  men  in  Vermont  have  taken  more  interest  in 
the  veterans  of  the  Civil  W7ar  than  Colonel  Clark. 
Much  of  his  time  and  much  of  his  money  have  been 

105 


COLONEL  HENRY  O.  CLARK 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

freely  given  that  his  State  might  be  benefited  and 
honored  and  the  comforts  of  his  comrades  enlarged. 
Colonel  Clark,  like  the  speaker  who  has  preceded  him, 
was  a  member  of  the  Sixteenth  Vermont  Infantry, 
but  the  liberality  of  his  thought  and  high  sense  of 
patriotism  extends  to  all  Vermont  regiments,  more 
especially  the  First  Vermont  Cavalry.  Colonel  Clark, 
it  is  up  to  you  to  tell  us  what  you  think  of  that  famous 
First  Vermont  Cavalry,  the  statue  of  whose  gallant 
commander,  just  unveiled,  must  surround  you  with 
inspirations;  Colonel  Clark." 

"Mr.  Chairman,  Ladies,  and  Gentlemen: 
"I  have  been  introduced  as  a  member  of  the  Six 
teenth  Vermont  Volunteers.  While  any  man  might 
be  proud  to  have  belonged  to  that  grand  organization, 
I  cannot  claim  the  right.  I  was  a  soldier  in  the  Thir 
teenth  Vermont  Regiment  in  the  same  Brigade  as  was 
the  Sixteenth  (Stannard's).  The  Thirteenth  Regiment 
did  about  the  hardest  fighting  that  was  done  on  this 
great  battlefield  fifty  years  ago  to-day.  At  least, 
that  is  what  is  claimed  by  its  survivors,  many  of 
whom  are  present  with  us  here.  In  charging  the 
flank  of  the  enemy  in  Pickett's  assault,  it  contributed 
largely  to  the  success  of  our  arms  at  the  critical  point, 
and  captured  more  prisoners  than  it  had  men  in  its 
ranks. 

"The  First  Vermont  Cavalry,  whose  beautiful  moun- 
ment  is  dedicated  here  to-day,  is  well  known  to  us  all 
as  the  bravest,  most  intrepid,  and  hardest  fighting 
Cavalry  Regiment  in  the  service.  We  are  proud  of  its 
record  of  achievements.  WTe  knew  it  well  during  the 

107 


IN  AFFECTIONATE  MEMORY  OF 

war.  Many  times,  I  remember,  while  marching  on  a 
heavy  mud  road,  loaded  down  with  knapsack  and  equip 
ment,  weary  and  footsore,  a  detachment  of  the  First 
Vermont  Cavalry  would  pass,  mounted  on  fine  horses, 
men  jolly,  nattily  dressed  and  up  to  date — something 
like  our  chairman  of  the  day,  who  was  a  member  of  the 
First  Vermont;  and  we  foot  soldiers  used  to  say, 
'If  I  ever  enlist  again  it  will  be  in  the  Cavalry,  where 
I  can  ride.  Those  chaps  have  an  easy  time  compared 
with  us.'  We  little  knew  then  of  their  trials  and  hard 
ships,  though  later  we  learned  of  them.  While  the 
Infantry  had  hard  days  of  marching  and  many  priva 
tions,  they  were  often  in  regular  camps  with  stockaded 
and  comfortable  tents  and  a  warm  place  to  sleep;  and 
sometimes  for  months  with  light  duties  and  only  suffi 
cient  drills  to  keep  them  in  fit  condition  for  active 
service,  whereas  the  Cavalry  rarely  had  an  estab 
lished  camp.  They  were  out  on  raids  and  scouts  in 
small  parties,  doing  picket  duty  in  exposed  positions, 
living  in  brush  houses  and  exposed  to  cold,  sleet,  and 
rain  with  no  shelter  available.  Every  soldier  in  every 
branch  of  the  service  had  to  keep  himself  in  good 
condition  physically,  but  the  Cavalry  soldier  had  in 
addition  to  keep  his  horse  sound  and  in  shape  to 
start  on  any  desperate  adventure  at  a  moment's 
notice;  to  look  out  for  his  feed,  often  so  difficult  to 
obtain  that  many  times  the  soldier  divided  his  ration 
of  hard  biscuit  with  his  faithful  and  uncomplaining 
horse. 

"We  of  the  Infantry  learned  that  the  life  of  a  Cav 
alryman  was  not  one  of  ease  and  comfort,  but  rather 
one  of  unceasing  work,  hardship,  and  care,  with  never- 

108 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

ending  watchfulness  to  prevent  surprise,  capture,   or 
death. 

"We  feel  proud  of  the  monument  erected  by  the  State 
in  honor  of  the  First  Vermont  Cavalry,  so  well  known 
for  valor  during  the  entire  four  years  of  the  Civil  War. 
Having  been  many  times  on  this  field,  I  have  seen  all 
the  monuments,  and,  in  my  opinion,  this  is  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  and  artistic  of  the  many  erected  to 
commemorate  brave  and  gallant  deeds  performed  here 
fifty  years  ago." 


Introducing  General  L.  A.  Grant: 

"The  Old  Brigade  will  be  the  next  sentiment.  How 
fortunate  that  the  beloved  and  distinguished  Com 
mander  of  that  Brigade  is  with  us.  At  the  advanced 
age  of  eighty-three  he  comes  from  far-away  Minnesota 
that  he  may,  on  this  historic  ground,  meet  the  survivors 
of  his  old  Brigade;  meet  those  who  followed  and  loved 
him.  General  Grant,  we  welcome  you.  You  honored 
both  your  State  and  nation." 

"Mr.  President,  Ladies,  and  Gentlemen: 

"Inasmuch  as  I  was  not  named  in  the  program,  it 
ought  not  to  be  expected  that  I  should  make  any  re 
marks.  I  knew  the  First  Vermont  Cavalry  to  be  one 
of  the  best,  if  not  the  best,  Cavalry  Regiment  in  the 
field.  I  knew  General  Wells  to  be  one  of  the  best 
officers  in  the  army,  and  this  monument,  erected  to 
their  memory,  shall  stand  as  a  witness  to  their  valor 
and  heroic  deeds." 

109 


MAJOR-GENERAL  L.  A.  GRANT,  U.  S.  Volunteers 
Commanding  the  Old  Brigade  and  Second  Division  Sixth  Army  Corps 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

Introducing  Governor  IT.  A.  Woodbury: 
"The  man  I  am  now  about  to  introduce  brought 
back  to  Vermont  the  first  empty  sleeve.  He  was  a 
brave  soldier  and  efficient  officer;  a  man  who  always 
stood  high  in  the  counsels  of  the  State  and  nation;  a 
man  who  was  honored  by  being  made  Governor  of  his 
State,  but  who  made  honors  easy  by  the  splendid 
administration  he  gave  his  State;  a  man  whose  friend 
ship  I  have  prized  and  enjoyed  for  many  years.  This 
man  is  Governor  Woodbury,  whom  I  now  have  the 
honor  to  introduce." 

"Mr.  President,  Comrades,  Ladies,  and  Gentlemen: 

"The  First  Vermont  Brigade  played  an  important 
but  not  prominent  part  in  the  drama  enacted  here  fifty 
years  ago.  As  a  part  of  the  Sixth  Corps  it  guarded  the 
left  flank  of  the  Union  Army,  which  was  an  assurance  of 
the  more  actively-engaged  forces  of  the  Army  of  the  Po 
tomac  that  they  would  not  be  flanked  in  that  direction. 

"If  the  Sixth  Corps  had  been  called  into  action  im 
mediately  after  Pickett's  repulse,  Gettysburg  might 
have  been  a  more  decided  victory  and  the  war  con 
siderably  shortened.  Speculations  of  this  kind  fifty 
years  afterward  are  not  of  much  value,  however,  and  it 
is  more  satisfactory  to  believe  that  the  duration,  the 
sacrifices,  and  the  hardships  of  the  gigantic  struggle 
were  ordained  of  God  to  work  out  his  righteous  purpose. 

"I  esteem  it  a  high  honor  to  be  asked  to  take  even 
a  small  part  in  these  interesting  ceremonies.  This  is  a 
great  day — the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  a  great  battle 
in  which  the  flower  of  Northern  and  Southern  manhood 
met  in  a  deadly  struggle.  Happily  for  our  now  united 

111 


GOVERNOR  U.  A.  WOODBURY 
Second  Vermont  Regiment,  "Old  Vermont  Brigade" 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

country,  the  victory  rested  with  the  North.  Enemies 
of  half  a  century  ago  who  were  then  eager  for  the 
blood  of  each  other  meet  to-day  in  friendship,  each 
eager  to  perform  some  loving  service  for  the  other. 
The  erection  of  this  beautiful  monument  gives  me 
much  satisfaction.  It  is  a  fitting  recognition  by  Ver 
mont  of  a  gallant  officer  and  a  gallant  regiment.  I 
have  always  had  a  warm  place  in  my  heart  for  the 
Vermont  Cavalry,  for  I  had  a  brother  in  that  regiment 
who  gave  his  young  life  while  fighting  for  his  country. 
He  was  a  typical  cavalryman,  brave  and  dashing,  and 
I  believe  would  have  attained  high  rank  had  he  lived. 
He  was  killed  in  action  in  April,  1863,  while  First- 
Lieutenant  of  Company  B. 

"I  have  also  many  lifelong  friends  in  this  Associa 
tion,  among  whom  are  your  President,  Colonel  Parker, 
and  General  Peck,  your  Secretary.  To  General  Peck 
and  his  associates  much  credit  should  be  given  for  this 
monument,  its  location,  and  dedication.  The  ground 
upon  which  we  stand  is  sacred  ground,  made  so  by  the 
blood  of  patriots  shed  in  making  one  of  the  most  dash 
ing  and  gallant  cavalry  charges  of  the  Civil  War.  It 
was  here  that  the  First  Vermont  Cavalry,  under  its 
heroic  leader,  Colonel  Wells,  added  to  its  fame  and 
presaged  its  brilliant  service  for  the  future.  May 
these  anniversary  days  of  the  greatest  events  in  human 
history  awaken  in  us  a  greater  love  of  God,  of  Country, 
and  of  mankind." 

Introducing  General  E.  D.  Dimmick: 
"The  First  Vermont   Cavalry  and  the  Fifth   New 
York   Cavalry  were  fighting  chums.     Whenever  one 

113 


GENERAL  E.  D.  DIMMICK,  TJ.  S.  Army 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

regiment  got  into  a  tight  place  the  other  was  always 
ready  to  rush  in  and  help  it  out.  They  were  fighting 
friends,  and  were  so  known  in  the  Cavalry  Corps.  I 
am  about  to  call  upon  a  gentleman  who  was  known  as 
a  fighting  Captain  in  the  Fifth  New  York.  A  gen 
tleman,  who,  at  the  close  of  the  war,  was  commis 
sioned  in  the  regular  army  and  rose  to  the  rank  of 
Brigadier-General.  It  gives  me  pleasure  to  introduce 
General  Dimmick." 

"Your  Excellency  and  Honorable  Members  of  the 
Commission,  Ladies,  and  Gentlemen: 

"I  feel  highly  honored  through  the  courtesy  of  my 
esteemed  friend  and  comrade,  General  Peck,  that  I 
have  been  given  this  privilege  of  making  a  few  remarks 
on  our  Brigade.  I  was  an  enlisted  man  in  the  Fifth 
New  York  Cavalry,  and  it  was  my  good  fortune  to  be 
brigaded  with  such  fine  regiments  as  the  First  Vermont, 
Eighteenth  Pennsylvania,  and  the  First  West  Virginia 
Cavalry,  regiments  that  their  States  and  the  nation 
may  well  feel  proud  of.  Time  will  not  permit  me  to 
speak  of  our  many  cavalry  fights  in  the  valley  of  the 
Shenandoah,  Harrisonburg,  Culpeper,  Warrenton, 
Thoroughfare  Gap,  Hay  Market,  Cedar  Mountain, 
Second  Battle,  Bull  Run,  Antietam,  and  other  places; 
but  I  want  to  speak  more  particularly  of  the  First 
Vermont  Cavalry.  A  strong  bond  of  friendship  sprang 
up  between  it  and  my  regiment  from  the  day  that  we 
were  first  brigaded  together;  and  this  friendship  grew 
stronger  from  day  to  day  and  month  by  month  through 
out  the  war,  and  will  be  more  firmly  cemented  by  the 
crowning  events  of  this  day.  I  know  that  I  voice  the 

115 


IN  AFFECTIONATE  MEMORY  OF 

sentiment  of  every  surviving  member  of  the  Fifth 
New  York  Cavalry  when  I  say  that  there  was  no 
braver  regiment  of  cavalry  in  the  Army  of  the  Potomac, 
nor  one  with  a  finer  record  than  the  First  Vermont.  Of 
the  services  of  'Our  Brigade'  during  the  Gettysburg 
campaign — the  stubborn  battle  with  Stuart's  Cavalry, 
in  the  town  of  Hanover,  on  June  30th;  at  Hunters- 
town  on  the  evening  of  July  2nd;  the  part  we  took  in 
the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  particularly  the  part  played 
by  the  gallant  First  Vermont  Cavalry  on  July  3rd  at 
this  hour,  the  pursuit  of  the  enemy  over  the  mountain 
that  pitch-dark,  rainy  night;  the  capture  of  most  of 
General  J.  E.  B.  Stuart's  wagons;  and  the  fight  at 
Hagerstown,  Maryland,  July  6th,  opposed  by  Hood's 
Division  of  Infantry,  supported  by  the  cavalry,  is  a 
matter  of  history.  Time  will  not  permit  me  to. go  into 
details,  but  we  have  the  authority  of  Generals  Grant, 
Sheridan,  J.  H.  Wilson,  and  other  cavalry  leaders 
that  there  were  no  better  cavalry  regiments  than  the 
First  Vermont  and  the  Fifth  New  York  Cavalry." 

Introducing  Colonel  W.  D.  Mann: 

"Colonel  Mann,  it  was  most  kind  of  you  to  honor 
this  occasion  with  your  presence.  You  were  Colonel 
of  the  Seventh  Michigan  Cavalry,  a  Regiment  that 
affiliated  and  often  fought  side  by  side  with  the  First 
Vermont.  You  knew  our  men.  You  knew  our  officers. 
We  knew  you  and  your  men.  Without  further  intro 
duction  you  will  find  us  interested  listeners." 

"Mr.  Chairman,  Your  Excellency,  and  Gentlemen: 
"I  deeply  appreciate  your  consideration  in  giving  me 
opportunity  to  say  a  word  of  that  grand  old  Regiment 

116 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

on  this  occasion  of  dedicating  this  noble  monument 
to  the  one-time  Colonel  of  the  First  Vermont  Cavalry. 
It  was  my  opportunity  to  see  and  know  a  good  deal  of 
the  Regiment,  and  at  one  time  a  detachment  of  it, 
under  Lieutenant-Colonel  Preston,  was  under  my  com 
mand  when  I  was  charged  with  the  duty  of  guarding 
the  Orange  &  Alexandria  Railroad — the  line  of  com 
munication  between  the  base  of  supplies  and  our  army 
on  the  Rappahannock — against  the  pernicious  activi 
ties  of  the  guerrilla  chief,  Mosby.  I  had  in  my 
command  my  own  regiment,  a  detachment  of  the  Fifth 
New  York,  and  a  part  of  the  First  Vermont,  and  I 
assure  you  that  Mosby  kept  us  all  very  much  on  the 
alert  and  pretty  busy.  At  one  time  he  secured  a  sec 
tion  of  artillery  from  Stuart's  command,  and,  gather 
ing  a  force  said  to  have  been  nearly  four  hundred 
troopers,  he  made  a  raid  on  the  road,  May  30,  1863, 
firing  upon  a  train  of  supplies  with  his  cannon,  a  shot 
going  through  the  locomotive  and  knocking  it  from 
the  rails.  He  promptly  proceeded  to  pillage.  It  was 
at  a  point  some  three  miles  from  my  headquarters' 
camp.  When  I  heard  his  cannon  I  mounted  my  force, 
dividing  it,  going  myself  with  a  part  directly  to  the 
train,  and  sending  the  other  detachment  under  Colonel 
Preston  off  to  the  right,  with  the  idea  of  reaching 
Mosby's  line  of  retreat  if  he  should  run  away  before  I 
got  at  him.  WThen  I  came  within  his  sight  he  began  a 
hurried  retreat  exactly  in  the  direction  I  had  expected. 
At  Grapewood  Farm,  near  Greenwich,  he  encountered 
Preston,  and  about  the  same  moment  my  own  de 
tachment  arrived,  and  he  was  brought  to  bay,  the  only 
time  history  relates  when  he  stood  for  a  fair  fight. 

117 


COLONEL  W.  D.  MANN 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

Colonel  Preston,  with  the  First  Vermont,  charged  in 
the  lead,  and  a  more  gallant  action  I  never  witnessed. 
He  was  met  by  cannon  firing  grapeshot,  but  grapeshot 
could  not  stop  Preston  or  his  Vermonters.  We  suc 
ceeded  in  giving  Mosby  a  severe  drubbing,  resulting 
in  seven  of  his  men  killed  and  fifteen  wounded  that 
were  unable  to  get  away  in  the  thickets  and  became 
our  prisoners.  We  captured  his  guns  and  a  number  of 
other  prisoners.  We  lost  four  men  killed  and  some 
eighteen  wounded,  among  them  being  Lieutenant 
Barker,  of  the  Fifth  New  York.  Captain  Haskins,  of 
the  Forty -fourth  British  Infantry,  on  leave  and  serving 
with  Mosby,  was  mortally  wounded,  and  Lieutenant 
Chapman,  in  command  of  his  artillery  and  graduate  of 
West  Point,  was  severely  wounded.  No  braver  sol 
dier,  no  more  patriotic  citizen,  no  nobler  man  than 
Preston  served  in  our  Civil  War.  I  did  not  personally 
know  General  Wells,  but  I  knew  enough  of  him  to  say 
he  well  deserved  the  honor  which  the  Green  Mountain 
State  has  done  him  in  this  monument  you  have  un 
veiled.  The  monument  honors  the  Regiment  as  well 
as  General  WTells;  and  no  State  had  a  regiment  more 
deserving  of  its  honor  than  did  Vermont  in  its  First 

Cavalry  Regiment." 

/ 

Introducing  Captain  George  Hilly er: 

"Unexpectedly  and  most  graciously  we  are  favored 
wTith  the  presence  of  a  distinguished  Confederate 
officer,  one  who  was  a  Captain  in  the  Ninth  Georgia,  a 
regiment  whose  casualties  had  been  so  great  that,  on 
the  third  day  of  the  battle  on  this  historic  ground,  not 
a  field  officer  was  left,  and  Captain  Hillyer,  whom  I 

119 


CAPTAIN  GEORGE  HILLYER,  C.  S.  Army 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

am  now  about  to  introduce,  was  called  on  to  command 
the  Regiment.  Judge  Hillyer,  you  earned  distinction 
as  a  fighting  Confederate  soldier  during  the  four  years 
of  war,  and  have  since  been  honored  by  your  State  by 
being  made  one  of  its  Judiciary.  We  gladly  welcome 
you  to  this  ceremony,  and  will  follow  you  with  interest. 
I  have  the  pleasure  of  introducing  Judge  Hillyer,  of 
Georgia." 

"Mr.  President,  Ladies,  and  Gentlemen: 
"I  am  here  merely  as  a  spectator — an  exceedingly 
interested  spectator  and  listener  in  these  ceremonies. 
That  beautiful  and  tasteful  monument  in  enduring 
stone  and  bronze,  with  the  splendid  utterances  of 
noble  men  on  both  sides,  where  fifty  years  ago  we 
struggled  over  this  historic  spot,  including  the  inspiring 
words  and  splendid  sentiments  of  my  former  com 
mander,  General  Law,  have  stirred  my  heart  and 
moved  me  to  a  most  unusual  degree. 

"My  regiment  was  the  Ninth  Georgia  Infantry,  of 
General  George  T.  Anderson's  Brigade,  the  Seventh, 
Eighth,  Ninth,  Eleventh,  and  Fifty -ninth  Georgia  of 
Hood's  and  Law's  Division.  Wre  had  been  severely 
engaged  during  the  afternoon  of  the  2nd  of  July  on  the 
left  flank  of  the  Division.  I  was  only  a  Captain,  the 
third  Captain  in  rank  in  line  of  the  Ninth  Georgia. 
During  the  severe  fighting  back  and  forth,  three  or 
more  times  across  the  historic  'wheat  field,'  and  one 
time,  when  we  advanced  to  the  very  foot  and  a  small 
distance  up  the  slope  of  the  'Little  Round  Top,'  we 
had  suffered  severely,  losing  more  than  half  of  the 
officers  and  men  of  the  regiment,  every  officer  above 


IN  AFFECTIONATE  MEMORY  OF 

me  having  fallen,  being  either  killed  or  so  severely 
wounded  as  not  again  to  be  able  for  duty  for  more 
than  three  months,  leaving  me  during  that  time  in 
command  of  the  regiment.  But  I  know  your  thoughts 
are  fixed  on  the  cavalry  fight  on  this  historic  spot, 
something  more  than  a  mile  to  the  right  of  where  we 
had  been  engaged  on  the  2nd. 

"During  the  forenoon  of  the  3rd  of  July  the  Eleventh 
Georgia,  under  command  of  Major  McDaniel,  a  noble 
and  splendid  man,  afterward  Governor  of  our  State, 
was  withdrawn  from  the  front,  or  Plum  Run  line,  and 
sent  along  the  Emmettsburg  Road  to  meet  Kilpat- 
rick's  Cavalry,  then  making  demonstrations  at  that 
point.  The  Seventh  Georgia  and  the  First  Texas  were 
already  in  position  on  that  line.  The  First  Texas  had 
been  badly  decimated,  like  my  own  regiment,  in  the 
battle  of  the  day  before,  and  they  had  hardly  force 
enough  to  station  their  men  closer  than  five  or  six 
feet  apart.  Soon  after  I  arrived  at  the  point  of  actual 
fighting  on  the  Emmettsburg  Road  Colonel  Maddox, 
of  the  Seventh  Georgia,  was  severely  wounded  and 
taken  from  the  field.  The  combat  went  on  for  some 
time  thereafter,  we  holding  our  line  successfully,  my 
regiment  in  a  position  for  immediately  supporting  and 
relieving  the  Seventh  Georgia  when  necessary. 

"The  Emmettsburg  Road  at  that  point  is  on  slightly 
rising  ground,  and  suddenly  I  saw  a  force  of  Federal 
cavalry,  charging  in  column  of  fours,  break  through 
the  thin  line  of  the  First  Texas,  and  come  galloping  up 
a  ravine  toward  a  six-gun  battery,  which  through  the 
war  and  until  that  time  we  had  known  as  Riley's  Bat 
tery,  but  which  I  notice  is  put  down  as  Baughman's 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

Battery  on  the  maps  of  the  battlefield — Baughman  being 
the  name  of  a  later  commander.  I  called  out  to  Cap 
tain  Hudson,  who  had  succeeded  Colonel  Maddox  in 
commanding  the  Seventh  Georgia,  that  the  Ninth  was 
going  to  the  support  of  Riley's  Battery,  toward  which 
evidently  this  cavalry  was  making  the  dash.  The 
Ninth  was  double-quicked  along  the  diagonal  line, 
partly  in  the  road,  but  mostly  in  a  straight  and  shorter 
line;  and  the  Federal  cavalry  being  impeded  by  a 
stone  wall  and  possibly  other  obstructions,  we  suc 
ceeded  on  a  quick  movement  in  reaching  the  battery 
first. 

"Talking  with  Vermonters  here  during  this  Reunion 
I  discovered  that  there  is  some  difference  of  recollec 
tion  as  to  whether  this  attacking  column  of  cavalry  was 
fired  on  by  Riley's  Battery.  My  recollection  is  quite 
distinct  that  as  the  Ninth  Georgia  in  its  rapid  march 
passed  for  a  short  distance  along  the  Emmettsburg 
Road,  \vhen  just  in  front  of  two  other  Confederate 
guns,  being  what  was  called  'flying  artillery'  and 
smaller  guns  than  those  of  Riley's,  they  were  fired 
over  our  heads — this  flying  artillery  being  on  slightly 
higher  ground,  one  of  my  men  was  severely  wounded 
by  the  'follow  block'  from  one  of  those  cannon.  But  I 
think,  in  point  of  fact,  Riley's  men  did  not  see  and  did 
not  fire  on  the  approaching  column  of  cavalry,  because 
it  was  advancing  in  the  ravine  I  have  mentioned  and 
out  of  easy  sight  of  the  gunners.  So  it  was  that  I 
halted  my  regiment  immediately  in  the  rear  of  Riley's 
Battery,  and,  facing  to  the  front,  we  advanced  between 
the  guns;  and  there  right  in  front  of  us  was  that  solid 
mass  of  horsemen,  just  preparing  to  make  their  dash 

123 


IN  AFFECTIONATE  MEMORY  OF 

at  the  battery.  When  the  volley  came  from  our  line 
at  this  solid  mass  of  men  and  horses,  right  before  us, 
and  in  easy  range,  you  can  easily  imagine  what  hap 
pened,  the  advantage  of  position  and  opportunity  being 
so  much  in  our  favor. 

"What  was  left  of  them  changed  direction  and  at 
tempted  to  find  a  new  position  in  a  body  of  woods,  or 
timbered  land,  some  two  hundred  yards  away.  There 
they  encountered  a  regiment,  which  I  learned  that 
General  Law  had  sent  to  meet  them,  the  Fifteenth 
Alabama.  From  the  roar  of  musketry  which  followed 
we  knew  that  the  fighting  in  those  woods  was  quite 
severe.  In  a  little  while  fifteen  or  twenty  came  back 
out  of  the  woods,  some  of  them  wounded  and  a  few  on 
foot,  but  by  this  time  the  First  Texas  had  concen 
trated  in  a  new  and  better  position,  and  with  this  ad 
vantageous  position  and  successful  attack  of  the  Ninth 
Georgia  the  few  who  thus  returned  from  the  timbered 
land,  as  I  mentioned,  were  nearly  all  killed  or  captured. 
I  learned  afterward  that  quite  a  number  retreated  in  a 
different  direction  and  passed  out  into  the  main  Federal 
lines  through  the  timber  to  the  right,  or  south  of  'Big 
Hound  Top,'  though  I  did  not  know  this  at  the  time. 

"I  had  a  man  in  my  company  named  Craig,  who  was 
a  bad  hand  to  forage  and  sometimes  to  straggle,  but  in 
reality  a  splendid  young  fellow  and  a  good  fighter  who 
was  always  on  hand  in  every  battle.  I  had  not  missed 
Craig,  but  a  few  minutes  after  the  scattered  remnants 
returned  toward  the  position  of  my  regiment,  as  I  have 
just  described,  I  saw  Craig  coming  from  the  direction 
of  those  woods.  He  walked  straight  up  to  me  and  said: 
'Captain,  those  men  are  Vermont  Cavalry,  and  their 

124 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

commander  was  General  Farnsworth,  and  he  has  been 
killed.  I  saw  him  killed.  His  horse  had  been  shot 
down  and  he  was  on  the  ground  still  fighting  and  firing 
his  pistol.  We  commanded  his  surrender,  and  when 
we  were  very  close  to  him  he  said  he  would  die  before  he 
would  surrender,  and  turned  his  pistol  and  shot  him 
self.'  I  had  learned  before  from  other  persons  that  it 
was  Vermonters  that  we  were  fighting,  but  I  did  not 
know  the  name  of  the  commander  until  Craig  told  me. 
Now  he  told  me  this  certainly  within  fifteen  or  twenty 
minutes  from  the  moment  of  Farns worth's  death.  I  had 
not  then,  and  have  not  at  this  moment,  the  slightest 
doubt  as  to  the  truth  of  what  Craig  said.  I  think  it 
likely,  however,  and  I  have  so  heard,  that  General 
Farnsworth  had  received  several  wounds  before  he  shot 
himself,  but  Craig  did  not  know  it. 

"Either  the  same  afternoon  or  early  the  next  morn 
ing  I  learned  or  heard  the  statement  made  in  such  a 
manner  that  at  the  time  I  fully  believed  it,  that  just 
before  the  charge  began  some  of  the  scouts  or  pickets 
of  the  First  Texas  had  crept  up  through  the  thick 
bushes  and  boulders,  or  rocks,  very  close  to  the  Federal 
position,  and  overheard  what  they  called  a  quarrel 
between  General  Kilpatrick  and  General  Farnsworth, 
in  which,  whilst  I  cannot  pretend  to  quote  the  words 
accurately,  it  appeared  that  General  Farnsworth  be 
lieved  it  would  be  unwise  to  make  the  charge  at  that 
point,  he  having  reconnoitered  the  ground,  but  that 
his  commander  (General  Kilpatrick)  overruled  him  in 
language  that  Farnsworth  thought  reflected  upon  his 
courage,  including  the  statement  that  if  he  (Farns 
worth)  was  unwilling  to  lead  the  charge  he  (Kilpatrick) 

125 


IN  AFFECTIONATE  MEMORY  OF 

would  lead  Farnsworth's  men  himself.  To  this  Farns- 
worth  was  said  to  have  replied:  'If  you  will  take  the 
responsibility  of  ordering  the  charge  I  will  show  you 
whether  I  am  afraid  to  lead  my  men  or  not.'  This 
seems  to  be  a  corroboration  of  what  Craig  had  said, 
and  supplied  a  motive  in  a  man  of  sensitive  nature 
and  lofty  pride  like  Farns worth,  that  would  lead  him 
to  say  in  the  crisis  of  the  succeeding  struggle  that  he 
would  die  before  he  would  be  made  a  prisoner.  I 
think  I  have  seen  it  stated,  from  other  sources,  in 
some  of  the  literature  of  the  battle,  but  without  giving 
any  distinct  authority  for  the  story,  that  as  a  historical 
fact  Farnsworth  did  take  his  own  life,  though  doubt 
less  already  mortally  wounded  at  the  time. 

"It  is  proper  to  add  that  I  have  not  gone  out  of  my 
way  to  volunteer  an  account  of  these  personal  inci 
dents,  but  some  of  the  survivors  of  Farnsworth's  com 
mand  here  have  asked  me  to  do  so,  so  that  my 
testimony  and  observations  from  the  Confederate  side 
might  aid  in  correctly  recording  these  historic  events.1 

"Now  let  me  give  you  another  incident.  Across  the 
field  from  which  Farnsworth's  command  charged  was 
a  rock  wall  sloping  up  and  down  the  hill.  After  the 
first  crisis  I  moved  my  regiment  forward  and  occupied 
this  rock  wall  as  a  breastwork.  Our  litter-bearers  came 
forward  and  lay  down  with  us  behind  the  wall.  Just  in 
front  was  a  wounded  Federal  soldier,  about  twenty 
steps  off.  He  was  suffering  intensely  with  the  heat  and 
thirst,  and  occasionally  cried  out  for  water.  We 
wanted  to  relieve  him,  but  it  was  as  much  as  a  man's 
life  was  worth  to  show  himself  above  the  wall  before 

*See  reproduction  of  letter  from  Surgeon  P.  O'M.  Edson  on  page  128. 

126 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

the  Federal  sharpshooters.  I  called  for  a  handker 
chief  to  use  as  a  flag,  but  there  was  not  one,  at  least 
not  one  that  was  white.  Then  I  told  Rains,  one  of  the 
litter-bearers,  to  raise  his  stretcher  above  the  wall  and 
wave  it.  It  was  not  even  as  white  as  the  handker 
chiefs,  being  mostly  red  from  what  it  had  gone  through 
the  evening  and  day  before.  But  as  soon  as  it  appeared 
above  the  wall  the  firing  on  the  other  side  slackened 
and  presently  ceased  altogether.  I  then  told  Rains 
and  Upshaw,  the  other  litter-bearer,  to  get  up  on  the 
wall  and  wave  the  stretcher  before  them.  They  did 
so,  and  half  a  dozen  Federals  appeared  from  the 
bushes  on  the  other  side.  Not  a  shot  was  fired  by  them, 
nor  a  shot  from  either  side,  until  Rains  and  Upshaw 
went  forward  and  brought  the  wounded  Vermonter  in 
and  laid  him  down  in  the  shade  behind  the  wall,  where 
we  gave  him  water  and  what  comfort  we  could.  This 
day  I  rejoice  more  in  that  act  of  mercy  and  kindness 
than  in  any  claim  of  glory  or  success  in  the  battle. 

"Such  scenes  were  common.  In  the  still  moonlight 
the  evening  before,  in  front  of  'Little  Round  Top,'  a 
hundred  or  more  instances  occurred  where  the  Federal 
litter-bearers  were  invited  and  allowed  to  come  within 
our  picket  lines,  and  our  men  allowed  to  do  the  same, 
to  bring  out  the  wounded  of  their  comrades.  No 
solitary  instance  occurred  at  such  times  of  a  cowardly 
shot  being  fired,  or  blow  struck,  or  any  unkind  word 
spoken  from  either  side  to  the  other,  and  we  gladly 
did  the  office  of  humanity  and  kindness  to  the  gallant 
Vermonter  I  have  mentioned.  In  fact,  that  day  was 
not  the  first  time  it  had  been  my  fortune  in  the  war 
to  fight  Vermonters.  At  'Dam  Number  One,'  before 

127 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

Yorktown,  early  in  1862,  we  fought  a  Vermont  regi 
ment;  I  do  not  remember  its  name  or  number.  (A 
voice  on  the  ground — 'The  Third  Vermont.')  Yes, 
doubtless  that  was  it,  but,  like  Farnsworth's  Cavalry, 
they  were  brave  and  noble  men — hard  to  handle,  and 
worthy  of  all  honor  and  praise.  Vermonters!  You 
could  not  break  or  even  bend  our  spirits  with  swords 
or  bullets,  but  you  win  our  hearts  by  kindness ! 

"And  now,  Veterans,  let  me  tell  you  why  I  think  the 
kind  Providence  has  spared  us  all  during  these  inter 
vening  fifty  years.  I  say,  old  Veterans — I  mean  both 
Confederate  veterans  and  Union  veterans — God  has 
spared  us  in  order  to  give  us  more  opportunity  and 
additional  opportunity  to  behave.  Let  us  love  one 
another,  and  do  our  duty  to  our  fellow  men  and  to 
our  country  and  to  our  God  until  we  die." 

Introducing  Colonel  John  W.  Bennett: 

"The  next  speaker  I  am  to  call  upon  is  the  only  sur 
viving  Lieutenant-Colonel  of  our  Regiment.  Colonel 
Bennett  was  one  of  the  most  reliable  and  fearless  offi 
cers  of  the  Regiment.  He  won  his  promotions  through 
efficient  service.  He  was  always  at  his  post  of  duty 
wherever  and  whenever  duty  called.  On  the  third  day 
of  this  great  battle,  and  immediately  preceding  the 
charge,  Colonel  Bennett  was  in  command  of  his  bat 
talion  on  the  skirmish  line.  Colonel  Bennett  was 
present  with  General  Farnsworth  when  General  Kil- 
patrick  ordered  that  reckless,  ill-advised  charge — a 
charge  that  cost  the  Regiment  so  many  lives.  Colonel 
Bennett,  your  presence  adds  interest  and  honor  to  the 
occasion.  Colonel  Bennett." 

129 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

"Mr.  President,  Ladies,  and  Gentlemen: 
"The  First  Regiment,  Vermont  Cavalry,  was  or 
ganized  September  4,  1861,  and  was  mustered  into  the 
United  States  service  November  1,  1861,  for  three 
years  or  during  the  war.  At  that  time  the  Regiment 
consisted  of  ten  companies,  but  later  two  companies 
were  added,  making  it  a  twelve-company  regiment  of 
twelve  hundred  men.  The  original  regiment  was  mus 
tered  out  November  18,  1864.  The  re-enlisted  veterans 
and  recruits  were  consolidated  into  a  battalion  of  six 
companies,  and  were  mustered  out  August  9,  1865. 

From  first  to  last  the  regiment  had 2,304  men 

There  were  killed  in  action  and  died  of  wounds 134  men 

Died  of  disease,  including  149  who  died  in  Confederate 

prisons 304     " 


Total  deaths 438  men 

"To  this  must  be  added  many  who,  from  the  effects 
of  wounds  received,  disease  contracted,  and  exposure 
in  the  service,  died  within  a  very  few  years. 

"Commencing  with  the  action  at  Mount  Jackson, 
in  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  Virginia,  April  16,  1862, 
and  terminating  at  Appomattox  Court  House,  April  9, 
1865,  the  Regiment  participated  in  seventy-six  battles 
and  combats. 

"Major  Wells  assumed  command  of  the  Regiment 
upon  the  death  of  Colonel  Preston,  early  in  June,  1864, 
and  was  promptly  promoted  to  the  Colonelcy;  ad 
vanced  to  the  command  of  the  Second  Brigade  of  Cus- 
ter's  Division  of  Cavalry  on  September  25,  1864. 
From  that  date  to  October  22,  1864,  the  speaker — 

130 


COLONEL  JOHN  W.  BENNETT 


IN  AFFECTIONATE  MEMORY  OF 

then  Lieutenant-Colonel — was  continuously  in  com 
mand  of  the  First  Vermont  Cavalry.  The  three  years' 
term  of  service  ended,  the  re-enlisted  and  recruits  were 
organized  into  a  battalion  of  six  companies. 

"PROPERTY  CAPTURED. — At  Tom's  Brook,  Virginia, 
October  9,  1864,  the  First  Vermont  Cavalry  captured 
two  pieces  of  artillery,  with  the  horses  attached,  and 
also  a  large  group  of  prisoners.  At  Cedar  Creek,  Vir 
ginia,  October  19,  1864,  the  Regiment  captured  one 
hundred  and  sixty-one  prisoners,  including  one  general 
officer,  one  lieutenant-colonel,  twenty-three  pieces  of 
artillery,  fourteen  caissons,  seventeen  army  wagons, 
six  spring  wagons  and  ambulances,  eighty-three  sets 
of  artillery  harness,  seventy-five  sets  of  wagon  harness, 
ninety-eight  horses,  and  sixty-nine  mules. 

"April  9,  1865,  at  Appomattox  Station,  the  First 
Vermont  Cavalry  captured  eight  guns,  and  some  of 
these  were  from  the  famous  Washington  Artillery 
Battalion  of  New  Orleans. 

The  regiment  captured,  October  9,  1864 2  guns 

October  19,  1864 23      " 

April  9,  1865 8      " 

33  guns 

In  addition  to  the  above,  my  recollection  is  that 
Colonel  Preston,  when  captain,  captured  one  gun 
from  the  noted  rebel,  Mosby,  making  a  total  of  thirty- 
four  pieces  of  artillery  captured  by  the  Regiment. 

"The  career  of  the  battalion  of  six  companies  sus 
tained  the  Regiment's  unsurpassed  record  of  efficiency 
and  came  to  a  triumphant  close  on  April  9,  1865,  at 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

Appomattox,  Virginia.  Here  the  battalion  was  mov 
ing  rapidly  to  a  charge  when  halted  by  the  flag  of 
truce  that  preceded  the  unconditional  surrender  of 
the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia. 

"A  word  on  what  I  saw  and  heard  regarding  the 
charge  on  the  third  day  of  the  battle  of  Gettysburg: 

"About  noon  on  the  third  day  of  the  battle  of 
Gettysburg,  General  Farnsworth's  Brigade,  of  Kil- 
patrick's  Division  of  Cavalry,  moved  against  the 
enemy  lying  near  the  southwest  base  of  'Round  Top,' 
the  First  Vermont  leading  the  Brigade.  Soon  after 
the  Regiment  struck  the  enemy's  skirmish  lines  my 
battalion  of  four  companies  was  dismounted  and  the 
Confederates  in  my  immediate  front  were  slowly 
forced  back  to  their  main  line  at  the  very  base  of 
'Round  Top.'  The  battalion  continued  to  press  for 
ward,  creeping  from  rock  to  rock,  until  the  groans  and 
moans  of  the  wounded  in  the  opposing  lines  were 
heard  with  equal  distinctness.  No  relief  could  be 
given  beyond  a  drink  of  water  by  the  tossing  of  a 
canteen  to  the  sufferer.  The  wounded  could  not  be 
removed,  for  a  hand  or  arm  shown  beyond  the  edge 
of  the  protecting  rock  was  likely  to  add  another  name 
to  the  list  of  wounded. 

"After  the  fearful  cannonading  away  to  the  right  of 
us  had  slackened,  and  the  awful  musketry  that  soon 
followed  had  mostly  died  away,  indicating  the  failure 
of  Pickett's  efforts  to  break  our  lines,  I  was  standing 
behind  a  large  tree.  Hearing  a  whistle,  I  looked  to 
the  rear,  and  quite  a  distance  back  saw  General  Farns- 
worth  in  the  edge  of  the  woods.  He  motioned  with  his 
hand  for  me  to  come  back.  As  he  was  still  approach- 

133 


IN  AFFECTIONATE  MEMORY  OF 

ing,  I  nodded  my  head  and  with  my  hand  signaled 
him  to  stop.  Having  already  received  a  slight  blister 
on  each  cheek  while  endeavoring  to  keep  a  watch  of 
what  was  being  enacted  in  my  front  by  peeking  around 
first  one  side  and  then  the  other  of  the  trees,  I  was 
not  highly  elated  at  the  prospect  of  a  trip  to  the  rear. 
I  delayed  my  start  until  one  of  the  men,  putting  his 
hat  on  a  stick,  slowly  pushed  it  out  a  little  beyond  the 
edge  of  his  protecting  rock,  and  the  enemy  commenced 
to  blaze  away  at  the  hat.  Then  I  darted  behind  the 
next  big  tree,  some  thirty  feet  to  the  rear.  The  bark 
flew  from  both  sides;  the  dirt  jumped  up  all  around; 
and  a  number  of  sharp  spats  against  my  only  shield 
betokened  objection  to  my  departure.  Here  I  paused 
until  the  next  outbreak  along  the  contending  lines, 
and  then  dashed  to  the  protection  of  another  big  tree. 
Each  succeeding  dash  was  followed  by  the  whiz  and 
hiss  until  out  of  range. 

"Generals  Kilpatrick  and  Farnsworth,  both  dis 
mounted,  were  engaged  in  conversation  as  I  approached. 
General  Farnsworth,  addressing  me,  said  in  substance: 
'General  Kilpatrick  thinks  that  there  is  a  fair  chance 
to  make  a  successful  charge.  You  have  been  up  in 
front  all  day,  what  do  you  think?'  Before  I  could 
speak  General  Kilpatrick  broke  in,  saying,  'The  whole 
Rebel  army  is  in  full  retreat.  I  have  just  heard  from 
the  right,  and  our  cavalry  there  is  gobbling  them  up 
by  the  thousand.  All  we  have  to  do  is  to  charge,  and 
the  enemy  will  throw  down  their  arms  and  surrender.' 
This  remark  was  addressed  to  me.  I  replied,  'Sir,  I 
don't  know  about  the  situation  on  the  right,  but  the 
enemy  in  our  front  are  not  broken  or  retreating.'  Then 

134 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

I  described  the  position  of  Hood's  (Rebel)  Infantry 
Division — behind  a  stone  wall  near  the  front  of  the 
hill;  that  there  was  not  a  horse  in  the  division  that 
could  jump  the  wall  from  the  lower  side.  And  further, 
the  necessary  solidity  required  to  make  such  a  charge 
effective  against  infantry  would  be  destroyed  by  the 
huge  rock  covering  the  ground  between  us  and  the 
enemy's  lines.  I  closed  by  saying,  'General  Kilpatrick, 
in  my  opinion,  no  successful  charge  can  be  made 
against  the  enemy  in  my  front.'  General  Kilpatrick 
was  evidently  annoyed,  not  to  say  angered,  at  my 
remarks.  He  did  not  attempt  to  conceal  his  dis 
pleasure,  yet  he  failed  to  challenge  the  accuracy  of 
any  part  of  my  statement  of  fact.  General  Farns worth 
was  a  listener  during  this  conversation  with  Kilpatrick. 
"Then  General  Farns  worth  requested  me  to  ac 
company  him  for  a  further  observation  and  examina 
tion  of  the  field,  position  of  the  enemy,  etc.  We 
mounted  our  horses  and  rode  away  to  the  west.  The 
General  made  a  careful  inspection  of  the  position  of 
the  enemy,  of  the  field  covered  with  large  stones  and 
boulders,  and  all  the  conditions,  stopping  frequently 
to  make  a  careful  and  minute  examination,  both  going 
and  returning.  I  recall  that  at  one  point  in  the  field 
of  rocks,  aliundred  feet  or  more  in  front  of  the  enemy's 
main  line,  was  a  light  advance  force  lying  behind  the 
remnants  of  a  stone  wall  (partly  removed).  When  the 
General  had  completed  his  examination  of  all  the 
conditions,  and  we  were  returning  to  Kilpatrick's 
headquarters,  he  turned  to  me  and  said,  'Major,  I  do 
not  see  the  slightest  chance  for  a  successful  charge.'  I 
fully  acquiesced  in  his  conclusion.  Kilpatrick  arose  as 

135 


IN  AFFECTIONATE  MEMORY  OF 

we  came  up,  and  General  Farns worth  explained  the 
conditions  as  he  had  found  them,  calling  attention  to 
the  leading  facts,  and  briefly  summarized  the  situation 
and  expressed  his  conclusions.  General  Farns  worth 
and  I  were  sitting  on  our  horses  side  by  side.  General 
Kilpatrick  replied:  'General  Farnsworth,  well,  some 
body  can  charge.9  He  did  not  say  that  he  would  lead  a 
charge;  did  not  indicate  that  he  would  do  so  while  I 
was  present.  General  Farnsworth's  set  lips  turned 
white  almost  instantly  as  the  sting  of  the  insult  seemed 
to  burn  into  his  very  soul.  There  was  a  short  pause 
following  these  words.  No  language  of  mine  can 
convey  a  picture  of  the  tension  of  that  moment  of 
silence.  As  General  Farnsworth  straightened  up,  every 
fibre  of  his  being  seemed  rigid.  Fearing  results  that 
might  follow,  and  anxious  to  arrest  General  Farns 
worth's  attention  before  he  should  speak  or  act,  I 
kicked  his  foot  three  or  four  times  with  my  boot,  but 
failed  to  attract  his  attention  or  divert  it  to  the  extent 
I  intended.  The  silence  was  broken  by  General 
Farnsworth,  who  replied,  'General  Kilpatrick,  if  any 
body  can  charge,  we  can,  sir.' 

"Only  three  persons  were  present  during  this  inter 
view,  and  I  made  the  third.  General  Farnsworth  and 
I  had  moved  a  short  distance  away  when  he  directed 
me  not  to  mount  my  battalion,  but  be  ready  to  aid  in 
protecting  his  right  as  he  moved  to  the  charge.  In  a 
few  moments  the  mounted  column,  with  the  Ver- 
monters  in  front,  came  up.  My  memory  is  that  one 
battalion  of  four  companies,  numbering  about  one 
hundred  and  twenty  men  under  command  of  Major 
Wells,  was  all  of  the  First  Vermont  Cavalry  that  par- 

136 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

ticipated  in  the  charge.  General  Farnsworth,  with 
Major  Wells  at  his  side,  led  the  column  as  it  swung 
into  the  open  field  swept  by  shot  and  shell,  and  moved 
to  the  charge.  My  battalion  charged  the  enemy's  line, 
thus  diverting  the  enemy's  fire  from  the  charging 
column  for  a  moment.  Away  'into  the  jaws  of  death 
and  into  the  mouth  of  hell'  rode  that  splendid  body  of 
brave  men.  They  smashed  through  that  slight  outer 
line  of  the  enemy,  and  the  men  that  composed  it 
threw  down  their  arms  and  sprang  to  the  opposite 
side  of  their  protecting  rocks  to  escape  the  deadly  fire 
from  their  main  line  that  was  being  poured  upon  our 
charging  body.  As  our  charging  column  passed,  many 
wrho  had  thus  surrendered  gathered  up  their  rifles  and 
fired  into  its  rear. 

"Soon,  scattered  over  the  field,  rushing  to  the  rear 
for  shelter  from  the  murderous  fire,  were  dismounted 
men  and  riderless  horses,  injured  and  uninjured,  while 
the  dead  and  dying  marked  the  course  of  the  charging 
column.  These  were  the  first  fruits  of  the  abundant 
harvest  that  was  gathered  through  the  wild  insanity 
that  ruled  the  hour." 

Introducing  Mr.  W.  B.  Van  Amringe: 

"It  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  present  Mr.  W.  B. 
Van  Amringe,  President  of  the  Van  Amringe  Granite 
Company  of  Boston,  Massachusetts,  the  contractors  of 
our  beautiful  monument,  and  to  say  that  we  are  indeed 
glad  to  have  him  here  with  us  to-day.  Our  only  regret 
is  that  the  accomplished  sculptor,  Mr.  J.  Otto 
Schweizer,  is  not." 


137 


J.   OTTO  SCHWEIZER, 
The  Artist 


W.  B.  VAN  AMRINGE 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

"Your  Excellency,  Mr.  President,  Ladies,  and  Gen 
tlemen  : 

"The  celebration  of  a  Golden  Wedding  Anniversary, 
in  any  family,  is  always  a  notable  event,  not  only  to 
the  happy  couple  who  together  have  traveled  the  half- 
century  journey  of  married  life,  but  to  their  children 
and  younger  generations  of  relatives  present,  who 
naturally  look  upon  the  Bride  and  Groom  of  long  ago 
with  much  awe  and  veneration. 

"Fifty  years  to  the  younger  generation  seems  like  a 
long  time  for  Father  and  Mother  to  be  care-sharing  and 
home-building,  and  it  really  is  a  long  time  reckoned  by 
what  has  happened  in  the  span  of  fifty  years  and  by  the 
marked  changes  that  have  taken  place. 

"We  are  gathered  here  to-day  from  the  Northland 
and  the  Southland  to  celebrate  the  Golden  Anniversary 
of  a  wonderful  wedding  which  took  place  on,  and  near 
this  spot,  fifty  years  ago,  at  this  very  hour. 

"Do  you  ask  the  names  of  the  Bridegroom  and 
Bride?  The  pages  of  history  give  their  names;  let  us 
read  together  its  record.  Lo!  we  find  the  following: 

"  'Wedded  this  day,  by  the  God  of  War,  Heroic 
Deed  and  Sacrifice  to  Sweet  Memory  and  Everlasting 
Fame. 

"  'Witnesses:  God  Almighty,  the  Angels  of  Heaven, 
and  a  great  host  of  friends  and  foes.' 

"That  was  indeed  a  wedding  never  to  be  forgotten; 
a  Union  which  no  man  can  ever  put  asunder,  try  as  he 
may,  for  on  that  day  the  Bridegroom  inscribed  his 
name  and  that  of  his  Bride  on  the  Scroll  of  Fame  in 
letters  of  blood  with  the  point  of  his  sabre,  to  the 
accompaniment  of  a  wonderful  wedding  march,  in 

139 


IN  AFFECTIONATE  MEMORY  OF 

which  the  hoarse  roar  of  nigh  two  hundred  cannon 
joined  the  chorus  of  a  hundred  thousand  muskets; 
in  which  the  shrill  notes  of  the  bugle  blast,  which 
started  your  own  wild  charge,  could  scarcely  be  dis 
tinguished.  Yes,  that  day  and  hour  and  ceremony, 
amid  shot  and  shell,  will  never  be  forgotten.  Blessed 
are  the  names  and  memories  of  those  brave  comrades 
who  are  not  with  us  this  day  in  the  flesh. 

"It  occurred  to  me  while  listening  to  the  distin 
guished  speakers  who  have  so  vividly  and  interestingly 
pictured  the  events  that  took  place  here  fifty  years 
ago,  to  look  around  for  visible  objects,  that  may  be 
seen  and  recognized  to-day,  that  we  know  for  a  cer 
tainty  were  here  on  that  eventful  afternoon  of  1863. 

"Only  two  visible  objects  can  now  be  seen  by  the 
natural  eye.  Old  Mother  Earth,  for  one;  and  you  men 
in  blue  and  gray,  who  were  participants  in  that  event, 
are  the  only  other  objects  that  we  can  see  to-day  and 
say  for  a  certainty,  'They  were  here  in  1863  and  are 
here  to-day.' 

"And  these  two  objects  can  scarcely  be  recognized 
to-day.  Even  Old  Mother  Earth  has  changed  in  fifty 
years;  and  though  we  recognize  her  in  a  general  way, 
we  find  her  face  seamed  with  deeper  lines,  even  by 
winding  avenues  and  twisting  water  courses.  Her 
sunken  cheeks,  with  rocks  and  boulders  over  and 
around  which  the  mad  dash  of  horse  and  rider  is  so 
well  remembered,  has  grown  a  heavier  and  whiter 
beard  of  moss  and  lichens. 

"You,  too,  comrades,  have  changed.  You  who  were 
here  at  that  wedding  of  Heroic  Deed  and  Everlasting 
Memory.  Your  faces  also  have  deeper  lines  engraved 

140 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

on  cheek  and  brow;  you  too  have  grown  a  heavier  and 
whiter  crop  of  reminders  of  the  flight  of  years,  and  so 
we  look  in  vain  for  some  visible  object  that  has  not 
changed  with  years. 

"We  turn  to  bronze  and  granite,  and  attempt  to  put 
into  pleasing  form  our  gratitude  and  our  remembrances; 
but  a  strange  truth  may  here  be  recalled — that  there 
are  things  more  enduring  and  more  lasting  than  even 
bronze  or  granite. 

"It  is  the  invisible  which  the  natural  eye  cannot  see 
that  is  more  real  and  lasting,  the  one  and  only  thing 
that  will  never  be  lost  nor  forgotten  in  the  centuries 
to  come. 

"It  is  the  glorious  Record  of  Heroic  Deeds  per 
formed  by  you  and  your  comrades  on  this  spot,  and  the 
unselfish  Sacrifices  which  you  and  your  companions 
made,  that  will  always  endure;  and  when  you  shall 
have  passed  away,  and  this  spot  on  the  face  of  Old 
Mother  Earth  shall  no  longer  be  recognized,  the 
record  of  your  heroic  deeds,  and  the  everlasting 
memory  of  your  service  and  sacrifice,  will  still  be  as 
bright  and  as  enduring  as  though  the  two  were  wedded 
to-day. 

"It  can  be  well  said  of  this  twain,  who  were  wed 
ded  fifty  years  ago,  that  they  have  not  changed;  they 
are  'the  same  yesterday,  to-day,  and  forever,'  and 
where  mortal  tongue  shall  name  the  one,  he  shall 
likewise  name  the  other.  Wherever  the  historian's 
pen  shall  describe  the  Deed  there  shall  be  also  inscribed 
Memory. 

"Comrades  and  Friends,  I  esteem  it  a  great  honor 
and  privilege  to  have  been  invited  to  be  present  with 

141 


IN  AFFECTIONATE  MEMORY  OF 

you  to-day,  and  to  have  had  a  part,  a  small  part,  in 
what  I  have  called  the  Golden  Wedding  Anniversary 
celebration;  and  I  thank  you  from  the  bottom  of  my 
heart  for  such  an  honor  and  privilege. 

"I  rejoice  with  you  to  have  with  us  to-day  the  worthy 
foemen  of  fifty  years  ago.  They  are  our  honored 
guests  and  esteemed  friends.  Our  enemies  of  yes 
terday  have  become  the  true  friends  of  to-day,  for 
we  know  by  their  presence  and  earnest  assurances 
that  they  are  our  comrades,  rejoicing  in  the  Citizenship 
of  a  United  Country,  living  under  and  loving  but  one 
Flag,  Old  Glory.  May  God  bless  all  of  us  and  for 
many  years  to  come." 

President  Parker  announced: 

"Comrades,  fifty  years  ago,  on  this  very  spot,  at 
five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  Major  Wells,  standing 
in  front  of  his  battalion,  with  drawn  sabre,  ordered  his 
bugler  to  sound  the  charge,  a  charge  that  for  daring 
and  desperation  has  challenged  the  admiration  of  the 
world.  The  hour  of  five  o'clock  has  now  arrived.  Let 
all  uncover  and  stand  with  bowed  heads  while  our 
bugler,  in  commemoration  of  that  historic  moment, 
sounds  the  charge." 

Gilbert  D.  Buckman,  of  Sacramento,  California,  was 
present  with  the  members  of  the  First  Vermont  Cav 
alry  Regimental  Association  at  the  unveiling  and 
dedication  of  the  monument  in  honor  of  the  Regiment, 
at  Gettysburg,  July  3,  1913. 

He  was  the  bugler  of  Company  L,  First  Vermont 
Cavalry,  and  for  several  months  was  orderly  bugler 

142 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

for  General  George  A.  Custer,  commanding  the  Michi 
gan  Cavalry  Brigade  of  the  Cavalry  Corps,  Army  of 
the  Potomac.  At  Gettysburg  he  was  relieved  from  this 
duty  and  sent  to  General  Farnsworth,  commanding  the 


GILBERT  D.  BUCKMAN 

brigade  of  which  the  First  Regiment  Vermont  Cav 
alry  was  a  part,  and  acted  as  his  orderly  bugler  on 
the  afternoon  of  the  charge  on  July  3,  1863. 

It  was  now  six  o'clock,  and  the  audience  rose  and 
sang  "America,"  accompanied  by  the  band  of  the 
Fifth  United  States  Infantry,  and  upon  the  sounding 
of  "Taps"  the  exercises  closed. 

143 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

FORTY-FIRST  MEETING 

FIRST  VERMONT  CAVALRY  REGIMENTAL 
ASSOCIATION 

IN  VERMONT  CAMP,  GETTYSBURG,  PENNSYLVANIA 
10  A.  M.,  July  2,  1913 


MEMBERS  PRESENT 

Lieutenant-Colonel  John  W.  Bennett,  454  South  Main 

St.,  Great  Barrington,  Mass. 
Adjutant  Clarence  D.  Gates,  Burlington,  Vt. 
Gilbert  D.  Buckman,  Oak  Park,  Sacramento,  Cal. 

COMPANY  A 

Edwards,  Ellis  B.,  Yonkers,  N.  Y. 
Edwards,  George  Albert,  Richmond,  Vt. 
Fay,  I.  E.,  National  Soldiers'  Home,  Kennebec  County, 

Me. 

Grow,  J.  H.,  Bethel,  Vt. 
Hood,  Albert,  Woodsville,  N.  H. 
Moore,  Mark  S.,  Granville,  N.  Y. 
Morse,  C.  W.,  Manitowoc,  Wis. 
Ryan,  T.  G.,  Cambridge,  Vt. 
Taft,  Levi  A.,  Huntington,  Vt. 
Whipple,  E.  J.,  Ashland,  Neb. 

COMPANY  B 

Bonner,  L.  H.,  Pasadena,  Cal. 

Henry,  William  P.,  16  Winslow  Road,  Brookline,  Mass. 
Knight,  Orris  P.,  North  Hero,  Vt. 
St.  Germain,  M.,  Saint  Albans,  Vt. 
Stetson,  Horace  B.,  North  Troy,  Vt. 
L^fford,  Samuel,  R.  F.  D.  2,  Lewiston,  Winona  Co., 
Minn. 

145 


IN  AFFECTIONATE  MEMORY  OF 

COMPANY  C 

Brunelle,  Toussant,  Canaan,  Vt. 
Gordon,  J.  W.,  Montpelier,  Vt. 
Rice,  M.  M.,  Saint  Albans,  Vt. 
Stevens,  D.  W.,  East  Hardwick,  Vt. 
Wheeler,  John  A.,  Irasburg,  Vt. 

COMPANY  D 

Burnham,  F.  E.,  Littleton,  N.  H. 
Clifford,  C.  W.,  Warren,  N.  H. 
Curtis,  A.  H.,  Berlin,  N.  H. 
Gracey,  John  C.,  Peacham,  Vt. 
Hutton,  Abia,  Westville,  N.  H. 
Kennison,  A.  H.,  Camden,  N.  Y. 
Moore,  H.  A.,  Passumpsic,  Vt. 
Walker,  D.  C.,  Jeffersonville,  Vt. 
Wheaton,  W.  M.,  Ottumwa,  Iowa. 

COMPANY  E 

Brush,  Solomon  M.,  Stowe,  Vt. 
May,  Edgar,  120  Cottage  St.,  Norwood,  Mass. 
Royes,  B.,  3372  Indiana  Ave.,  Chicago,  111. 
Snow,  S.  M.,  West  Hartford,  Vt. 
Stevens,  John  W.,  Lancaster,  N.  H. 
Wheeler,  Charles,  Springfield,  Vt. 

COMPANY  F 

Brink,  D.  A.,  Brandon,  Vt. 
Dickenson,  N.  P.,  Shelton,  Neb. 

Farr,  Charles  R.,  25  Manen  St.,  Northampton,  Mass, 
Farr,  Ransom  C.,  West  Chesterfield,  N.  H. 
Greene,  William  F.,  Dighton,  Kan. 

146 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

Joyce,  William  C.,  Northfield,  Vt. 
Nash,  John  M.,  Saint  Albans,  Vt. 
Peck,  Theodore  S.,  Burlington,  Vt. 
Streeter,  Henry  C.,  Brattleboro,  Vt. 
Thwing,  John  A.,  Bellows  Falls,  Vt. 
Warner,  M.  C.,  Proctor,  Vt. 

COMPANY  G 

Barrett,  James,  North  Clarendon,  Vt. 
Eddy,  Daniel  W.,  Hoosick  Falls,  N.  Y. 

COMPANY  H 

Bostwick,  R.  E.,  South  Londonderry,  Vt. 
Flynn,  William,  Alton,  111. 

Leland,  Charles  C.,  617  East  Nineteenth  St.,  Minne 
apolis,  Minn. 
Robie,  F.  C.,  Coos,  N.  H. 
Ross,  Frank,  Amsterdam,  N.  Y. 
Stoddard,  Edgar,  Colebrook,  N.  H. 

COMPANY  I 

Cowles,  A.  E.,  North  Craftsbury,  Vt. 
Enos,  Joseph,  Franklin,  N.  H. 
Ferry,  F.  E.,  South  Sutton,  N.  H. 
Hall,  W.  H.,  Portage,  King  County,  Washington. 
Kaiser,  S.  H.,  Stowe,  Vt. 
Norris,  Richard  C.,  Boon,  Mich. 
Skinner,  G.  E.,  Nyssa,  Ore. 
Stevens,  J.  T.,  Hyde  Park,  Vt. 
Washburn,  E.  A.,  Crown  Point,  N.  Y. 
Waterman,  A.  E.,  124  Tazwell  St.,  Norfolk,  Va. 

147 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

COMPANY  K 

Guyette,  Frank,  Stony  Point,  N.  Y. 
Higbee,  Edwin  H.,  Groton,  Mass. 
McSorley,  John,  Malone,  N.  Y. 

COMPANY  L 

Blinn,  W.  F.,  Penacook,  N.  H. 

Fobes,  J.  A.,  Beloit,  Kan. 

Irish,  Calvin  H.,  Northfield,  Mass. 

Knight,  B.  T.,  849  Summit  Ave.,  Pasadena,  Cal. 

McBride,  George  L.,  119  North  Willard  St.,  Burling 
ton,  Vt. 

Marchessault,  Charles,  3118  Russell  Ave.,  Minne 
apolis,  Minn. 

Munsell,  William  H.,  Wells  River,  Vt. 

Pratt,  Henry  W.,  East  Berkshire,  Vt. 

Stoughton,  Augustus  C.,  80  Colchester  Ave.,  Burling 
ton,  Vt. 

COMPANY  M 

Aldrich,  John,  Island  Pond,  Vt. 

Boswell,  J.  H.,  Castlewood,  S.  D. 

Deso,  Alvah,  Swanton,  Vt. 

Farrington,  George  M.,  North  Ave.,  Burlington,  Vt. 

Lander,  Peter,  163  North  St.,  Burlington,  Vt. 

Parker,  Myron  M.,  1418  F  St.,  N.  W.,  Washington, 

D.  C. 
Williams,  T.  J.,  Randolph,  Vt. 


FIRST  REGIMENT  VERMONT  CAVALRY 


FIRST  REGIMENT  CAVALRY 

BY  LIEUTENANT  WILLIAM  L.  GREENLEAF  AND 
SERGEANT  SEYMOUR  H.  WOOD 

OF  the  two  hundred  and  fifty -eight  regiments  of 
cavalry  in  the  service  of  the  LTnited  States  dur 
ing  the  W^ar  of  the  Rebellion,  but  few,  if  any, 
performed  more  arduous  service,  or  took  part  in  more 
engagements,  than  did  the  First  Vermont,  which  dur 
ing  three  years  at  the  front  participated  in  seventy-six 
battles  and  skirmishes — a  brief  account  of  which  would 
far  exceed  the  limits  of  this  sketch — and  achieved  a 
reputation  as  one  of  the  best  fighting  regiments  in  the 
army,  standing  fifth  in  the  list  of  cavalry  organizations 
suffering  the  greatest  loss  in  killed  and  mortally 
wounded. 

The  Regiment  was  recruited  by  Lemuel  B.  Platt, 
who  had  been  specially  commissioned  by  the  Secretary 
of  War  for  that  purpose,  and  was  the  first  full  regiment 
of  cavalry  raised  in  New  England.  The  several  com 
panies  were  enlisted  as  follows:  A,  Chittenden  County; 
B,  Franklin  County;  C,  Washington  County;  D, 
Orange  and  Caledonia  Counties;  E,  Windsor  County; 
F,  Windham  County;  G,  Bennington  County;  H,  Rut 
land  County;  I,  Lamoille  and  Orleans  Counties;  K, 
Addison  County.  In  forty-two  days  from  the  time 
Colonel  Platt  received  his  authority  the  Regiment  was 
in  camp  at  Burlington,  uniformed  and  mounted.  The 

151 


IN  AFFECTIONATE  MEMORY  OF 

organization  was  then  completed  by  the  appointment 
of  the  following  Field  and  Staff  Officers: 

Colonel— Lemuel  B.  Platt 

Lieutenant-Colonel — George  B.  Kelloff. 

Majors — William  D.  Collins  and  John  D.  Bartlett. 

Adjutant — Edgar  Pitkin. 

Quartermaster — Archibald  S.  Dewey. 

Surgeon — George  S.  Gale. 

Assistant  Surgeon — P.  O'Meara  Edson. 

Chaplain — John  H.  Woodward. 

The  following  company  officers  were  elected  by  the 
several  companies  and  commissioned  by  the  Governor: 

Company  A — Captain,  Frank  A.  Platt;  First  Lieuten 
ant,  Joel  B.  Erhardt;  Second  Lieutenant,  Ellis  B. 
Edwards. 

Company  B — Captain,  George  P.  Conger;  First 
Lieutenant,  William  M.  Beeman;  Second  Lieutenant, 
Jed  P.  Clark. 

Company  C — Captain,  William  Wells ;  First  Lieuten 
ant,  H.  M.  Paige;  Second  Lieutenant,  Eli  Holden. 

Company  D — Captain,  Addison  W.  Preston;  First 
Lieutenant,  John  W.  Bennett;  Second  Lieutenant, 
William  G.  Cummings. 

Company  E — Captain,  S.  P.  Rundlett;  First  Lieuten 
ant,  Andrew  J.  Grover;  Second  Lieutenant,  John  C. 
Holmes. 

Company  F — Captain,  Josiah  Hall;  First  Lieutenant, 
Robert  Scofield.  Jr.;  Second  Lieutenant,  Nathaniel  E. 
Hay  wood. 

Company  G — Captain,  James  A.  Sheldon;  First 
Lieutenant,  George  H.  Bean;  Second  Lieutenant,  D.  M. 
Blackmer. 

152 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

Company  H — Captain,  S.  G.  Perkins;  First  Lieuten 
ant,  F.  T.  Huntoon;  Second  Lieutenant,  Charles  A. 
Adams. 

Company  I — Captain,  E.  B.  Sawyer;  First  Lieuten 
ant,  H.  C.  Flint;  Second  Lieutenant,  Josiah  Grout,  Jr. 

Company  K — Captain,  Franklin  Moore;  First 
Lieutenant,  John  S.  Ward;  Second  Lieutenant,  John 
Williamson. 

The  Regiment  was  mustered  into  the  service  of  the 
United  States,  November  19,  1861,  and  started  for 
Washington  on  the  14th  of  the  next  month,  requiring 
for  the  journey  one  hundred  and  fifty -three  cars,  made 
up  into  a  train  of  five  sections.  After  passing  through 
the  experiences  common  to  all  new  regiments,  besides 
losing  one  Colonel  by  resignation  and  another  by 
death,  it  met  the  enemy  for  the  first  time  April  16, 
1862,  in  the  Valley  of  the  Shenandoah.  In  this  en 
gagement  it  charged  through  the  little  village  of  Mount 
Jackson  and  drove  Ashby's  cavalry  for  more  than  a 
mile  to  the  North  Fork  of  the  Shenandoah,  where  the 
enemy  set  fire  to  the  bridge,  hoping  to  cut  off  further 
pursuit.  Finding  the  stream  unfordable,  part  of  the 
Regiment  dashed  over  the  burning  bridge  after  the 
flying  Confederates,  while  the  remainder  brought 
water  from  the  river  in  their  feed-bags  and  extinguished 
the  flames.  The  loss  on  this  occasion  was  slight,  but 
the  regiment  displayed  in  its  maiden  effort  that  dash 
ing  valor  and  fertility  of  resource  so  essential  to  its 
success  as  a  cavalry  organization,  and  for  which  it  was 
afterward  noted  on  fields  of  greater  magnitude. 

On  the  23rd  of  May  the  Regiment  was  joined  by  its 
new  Colonel,  Charles  H.  Tompkins,  of  the  Regular 

153 


IN  AFFECTIONATE  MEMORY  OF 

Army,  who  had  already  achieved  a  reputation  as  a 
dashing  cavalry  officer,  and  under  his  leadership,  in  the 
retreat  down  the  valley  under  Banks,  the  Regiment 
had  its  full  share  of  fighting,  meeting  the  enemy  at 
McGaheysville,  Middletown,  and  Winchester.  In  the 
campaign  under  Pope,  which  culminated  in  the  second 
battle  of  Bull  Run,  the  First  Vermont  was  constantly 
on  the  move,  and  was  engaged  at  Luray  Court  House, 
Culpeper  Court  House,  Orange  Court  House,  Kelley's 
Ford,  Waterloo  Bridge,  and  Bull  Run.  At  the  close 
of  this  campaign  the  Regiment,  much  reduced  in  num 
bers  by  its  arduous  service,  was  assigned  to  duty  in 
the  defenses  of  Washington.  Its  headquarters  were 
established  near  Alexandria,  and  detachments  were 
stationed  at  Annandale,  Lewinsville,  Dranesville,  and 
other  points.  In  September  Colonel  Tompkins  re 
signed  and  was  succeeded  by  Edward  B.  Sawyer, 
making  the  fourth  Colonel  within  one  year.  The 
Regiment  had  lost  during  its  six  months  of  active 
service  three  hundred  and  nineteen  men  by  death  or 
discharge,  but  this  loss  was  made  good  by  the  addition 
of  Company  L — Captain,  H.  Chester  Parsons;  First 
Lieutenant,  John  W.  Newton;  Second  Lieutenant, 
Alexander  G.  Watson — recruited  in  Franklin  and  Chit- 
tenden  Counties;  and  Company  M — Captain,  John  W. 
Woodward;  First  Lieutenant,  George  W.  Chase;  Sec 
ond  Lieutenant,  Enoch  B.  Chase — recruited  princi 
pally  in  Chittenden  County.  These,  with  the  addition 
of  two  hundred  recruits  distributed  among  the  ten 
original  companies,  raised  the  aggregate  of  the  Regi 
ment  to  ten  hundred  and  thirty-four. 

During  the  winter,  portions  of  the  Regiment  were 

154 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

frequently  engaged  with  Mosby  and  other  guerrilla 
leaders.  These  affairs  were  comparatively  bloodless, 
but  the  one  of  April  1,  1863,  when  Captain  Flint,  with 
a  detachment  of  the  Regiment,  undertook  the  capture 
of  Mosby  near  Broad  Run  and  met  with  a  serious  re 
pulse,  in  which  Captain  Flint,  Lieutenant  C.  A.  Wood- 
bury,  and  seven  men  were  killed  or  mortally  wounded, 
twenty-two  wounded,  and  eighty-two  men  and  ninety- 
five  horses  captured,  was  a  serious  blow  to  the  Regi 
ment.  This  misfortune  was  in  a  measure  retrieved  on 
May  30th,  when  Mosby,  who  had  captured  a  supply 
train  of  ten  cars  near  Catlett's  Station,  was  attacked 
by  Lieutenant-Colonel  Preston  with  about  one  hundred 
and  twenty-five  of  the  Vermont  Cavalry  and  pursued 
to  Greenwich,  where  he  attempted  to  make  a  stand,  but 
was  completely  routed  by  a  charge  led  by  Lieutenant 
Hazelton,  of  Company  H,  and  his  one  piece  of  artillery 
captured.  The  loss  of  the  Regiment  on  this  occasion 
was  but  one  man  killed  and  seven  wounded,  and  this 
was  its  last  encounter  with  this  famous  partisan 
leader. 

Early  in  June,  1863,  the  scattered  detachments  of 
the  Regiment  assembled  at  Fairfax  Court  House,  pre 
paratory  to  joining  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  then  on 
the  march  to  Gettysburg.  On  the  28th  of  June  it  was 
attached  to  the  Cavalry  Corps  of  that  army  and  was 
afterward  associated  with  it  until  the  close  of  the  war. 
During  the  campaign  of  1863  the  Regiment  bore  a 
conspicuous  part  in  the  brilliant  operations  which  first 
brought  the  cavalry  into  notice  as  a  valuable  arm  of 
the  service,  and  won  for  itself  fresh  laurels  on  the  field 
of  Gettysburg,  where,  under  the  lead  of  the  gallant 

155 


IN  AFFECTIONATE  MEMORY  OF 

Farnsworth,  it  penetrated  within  the  enemy's  lines  for 
nearly  a  mile,  encountering  the  fire  of  five  regiments  of 
infantry  and  two  batteries,  leaving  its  leader  on  the 
field,  the  only  general  officer  killed  within  the  lines  of 
the  enemy.  It  also  participated  in  the  cavalry  engage 
ments  at  Hanover,  Hunterstown,  Hagerstown,  Boons- 
borough,  Falling  Waters,  Buckland  Mills,  and  many 
skirmishes  of  lesser  account. 

During  the  ensuing  winter  the  Regiment  was  sta 
tioned  at  Stevensburg,  engaged  in  picketing  the  line  of 
the  Rapidan.  It  formed  a  part  of  Kilpat rick's  force  in 
his  famous  raid  on  Richmond,  and  was  selected  to 
make  an  attempt  to  enter  the  city  and  release  the 
prisoners  confined  in  Libby  Prison  and  on  Belle  Isle.  A 
portion  of  the  Regiment  was  with  the  ill-fated  Dahlgren 
when  he  made  the  dash  within  the  fortifications  around 
the  city  which  cost  him  his  life. 

In  the  reorganization  of  the  Cavalry  Corps  previous 
to  the  opening  of  the  Wilderness  Campaign,  the  Regi 
ment  was  assigned  to  the  Second  Brigade  of  the  Third 
Division,  and  Colonel  Sawyer  having  resigned,  Lieuten 
ant-Colonel  Addison  W.  Preston  was  commissioned  as 
his  successor.  The  Regiment  crossed  the  Rapidan  at 
Germanna  Ford  at  daylight  on  the  morning  of  May 
4th,  and  moved  forward  to  Parker's  Store.  Early  on 
the  morning  of  May  5th  the  Second  Brigade,  with  the 
First  Vermont  Cavalry  in  front,  proceeded  to  Craig's 
Meeting  House,  where,  at  about  eight  o'clock,  the 
advance  squadron  encountered  Rosser's  brigade  of 
Hampton's  calvary,  and  the  engagement  which  fol 
lowed  was  the  opening  fight  of  the  battle  of  the  Wilder 
ness.  In  this  action  the  Union  forces  were  largely 

156 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

outnumbered,  and  the  Regiment  suffered  a  heavy 
loss  in  killed  and  prisoners. 

The  Regiment  was  with  Sheridan  in  his  expedition 
to  Richmond  in  May,  1864,  and  participated  in  the 
engagements  at  Yellow  Tavern  and  Meadow  Bridge 
which  resulted  in  the  death  of  General  Stuart,  the 
famous  cavalry  leader  of  the  Confederates,  and  the 
total  rout  of  his  forces.  Returning  to  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac,  it  took  part  in  the  cavalry  engagements  at 
Hanover  Court  House,  Ashland,  Hawe's  Shop,  Bot 
toms  Bridge,  White  Oak  Swamp,  Riddle's  Shop,  and 
Malvern  Hill.  In  the  action  at  Hawe's  Shop  the 
Regiment  met  with  a  severe  loss  in  the  death  of  the 
gallant  Preston,  whom  General  Custer  declared  to  be 
"the  best  cavalry  colonel  in  the  Army  of  the  Potomac." 

The  army,  having  crossed  the  James  River,  was  fol 
lowed  by  the  cavalry,  and  the  First  Vermont,  with  the 
Third  Division  and  that  of  General  Kautz,  was  sent 
to  destroy  the  W^eldon,  South  Side,  and  other  railroads 
leading  south  and  west  from  the  rebel  capital.  The  ex 
pedition,  numbering  about  five  thousand  men,  started 
from  Prince  George  Court  House  at  one  o'clock  on  the 
morning  of  June  22,  striking  the  Weldon  Road  at 
Ream's  Station,  where  the  buildings  and  a  portion 
of  the  track  were  destroyed.  During  the  following 
seven  days  the  Regiment  was  constantly  engaged  in 
tearing  up  railroads  and  skirmishing  with  the  enemy. 
At  Nottoway  Court  House,  Roanoke  Station,  Stony 
Creek,  and  Ream's  Station  these  skirmishes  were 
quite  severe,  and  the  Regiment,  bearing  its  part  in  all 
of  them,  suffered  considerable  loss  in  killed  and 
wounded.  At  Stony  Creek  the  brigade  to  which  the 

157 


IN  AFFECTIONATE  MEMORY  OF 

Regiment  belonged  was  attacked  by  Hampton's  di 
vision  of  cavalry  and  cut  off  from  the  rest  of  the 
division.  After  severe  fighting  it  managed  to  cut  its 
way  through  and  joined  the  other  brigade  at  Ream's 
Station.  The  whole  force  then  made  its  way  back  to 
the  Union  lines  with  the  loss  of  its  artillery  and 
wounded.  This  expedition  was  the  most  severe  in 
which  the  Regiment  had  as  yet  been  engaged;  and,  re 
duced  in  numbers  by  the  hard  service  of  the  last  sixty 
days,  it  went  into  camp  near  Light  House  Point,  on 
the  James,  where  it  remained  some  three  weeks  re 
cruiting  the  men  and  horses  for  harder  experiences 
yet  to  come. 

On  the  8th  of  August  the  Third  Cavalry  Division, 
including  the  First  Vermont,  now  under  Colonel  Wil 
liam  Wells,  who  had  succeeded  to  the  command  after 
the  death  of  Colonel  Preston,  embarked  for  Washing 
ton  on  its  way  to  join  General  Sheridan  in  the  Shenan- 
doah  Valley,  arriving  at  Winchester  on  the  17th. 
General  Sheridan  was  at  this  time  retiring  down  the 
valley,  and  the  Regiment  participated  in  the  engage 
ments  which  occurred  at  Winchester,  Summit  Point, 
Charlestown,  and  Kearneyville,  crossing  the  Potomac 
with  the  rear  guard  at  Harpers  Ferry  on  the  night  of 
the  25th.  On  the  following  day  Early  began  falling 
back  up  the  valley  followed  by  the  Union  cavalry,  and 
during  the  following  week  the  First  Vermont  took 
part  in  several  reconnoissances  and  was  in  slight 
skirmishes  near  Berry ville  and  Paris.  In  the  battle  of 
the  Opequan,  September  19th,  the  Regiment  bore  an 
active  part  and  was  in  close  pursuit  of  the  retreating 
enemy  when  darkness  put  an  end  to  the  engagement. 

158 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

On  the  21st  the  Regiment  led  the  advance  in  the  move 
ment,  having  for  its  object  the  clearing  out  of  the  rebel 
cavalry  in  the  Luray  Valley.  The  First  New  Hamp 
shire,  fighting  dismounted,  had  driven  the  enemy  across 
the  river,  but  was  unable  to  effect  a  crossing.  The 
First  Vermont  was  then  brought  up  and  charged  across 
the  stream,  driving  the  enemy  from  its  position.  The 
division  having  in  the  meantime  crossed  along  the 
pike  to  the  right,  the  Regiment  joined  the  main  col 
umn  and  followed  the  enemy  to  Front  Royal,  a  distance 
of  two  miles.  Here  the  Regiment  was  again  detached 
and  sent  to  Gooney  Manor,  four  miles  above  Front 
Royal,  where  it  found  the  enemy's  rear  guard  in  a 
strong  position  on  a  hill  south  of  Gooney  Run.  After 
skirmishing  until  after  ten  o'clock  at  night  the  Regi 
ment  was  relieved,  and  joined  the  brigade.  The  next 
morning  it  was  again  actively  engaged  near  Milford, 
but,  finding  the  position  too  strong  to  be  carried,  our 
cavalry  retired  to  Bucks  Ford.  On  the  26th  Colonel 
Wells  was  assigned  to  the  command  of  the  brigade  and 
turned  the  command  of  the  Regiment  over  to  Lieuten 
ant-Colonel  John  W.  Bennett. 

During  the  first  week  in  October  the  Regiment  was 
in  camp  near  Mount  Crawford.  On  the  7th,  as  rear 
guard  of  the  cavalry  column,  it  had  a  severe  engage 
ment  with  the  enemy  near  Columbia  Furnace.  General 
Sheridan  was  disgusted  with  these  constant  attacks  on 
his  rear  and  ordered  his  cavalry  out  the  next  morning 
with  instructions  to  either  whip  the  enemy  or  get 
whipped  themselves.  The  result  of  this  order  was 
the  splendid  victory  at  Toms  Brook,  in  which  the  First 
Vermont  acquitted  itself  with  much  credit,  capturing 

159 


IN  AFFECTIONATE  MEMORY  OF 

two  pieces  of  artillery,  a  large  number  of  prisoners, 
and  pursued  the  flying  enemy  for  more  than  ten  miles. 

On  the  morning  of  that  memorable  19th  of  October, 
when  "Sheridan  rode  from  Winchester  twenty  miles 
away,"  Colonel  Wells's  brigade  was  guarding  the  fords 
across  Cedar  Creek,  on  the  extreme  right  of  the  army. 
At  the  first  sound  of  the  firing  on  the  left  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Bennett  was  ordered  to  move  out  with  his 
regiment,  select  a  position  covering  the  camp,  and  feel 
the  enemy.  The  Rebel  cavalry  was  found  to  be  in 
force,  and  arrangements  were  made  to  resist  its  ad 
vance  in  case  one  should  be  attempted.  About  nine 
o'clock  the  bulk  of  the  cavalry  was  ordered  to  the 
extreme  left  to  assist  the  infantry,  Colonel  Wells  with 
his  brigade  being  left  to  guard  the  right  and  prevent 
the  enemy  from  turning  that  flank.  Orders  were  soon 
received  to  retire  sloVly  and  keep  in  line  with  the  infan 
try.  After  falling  back  about  a  mile  a  halt  was  ordered, 
and  the  cavalry  held  its  position,  skirmishing  briskly 
for  several  hours.  General  Custer  then  returned  to 
the  right  with  the  First  Brigade  and  a  battery,  and 
ordered  a  charge  in  which  the  enemy  was  driven  back 
and  the  Regiment  regained  its  former  position. 

In  the  final  advance  of  our  army,  leaving  the  First 
Brigade  to  watch  the  enemy  on  the  right,  General 
Custer  took  the  First  Vermont  .and  Fifth  New  York 
rapidly  across  the  field  to  strike  the  left  and  rear  of 
Early 's  infantry,  which  was  then  trying  to  hold  its 
position  along  the  north  bank  of  Cedar  Creek,  but, 
unable  to  resist  the  last  furious  charge  of  the  Union 
infantry,  the  enemy  broke  and  fled.  The  infantry 
halted  in  their  old  camps,  but  the  cavalry  kept  on. 

160 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

The  First  Vermont  led  the  way  across  the  creek  at  a 
difficult  ford  west  of  the  pike,  the  leading  squadron, 
under  Captain  Watson,  advancing  to  a  stone  wall  about 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  beyond,  where  it  was  brought  to  a 
halt  by  a  volley  from  the  enemy's  infantry.  Waiting 
until  the  remainder  of  the  Regiment  came  up,  Colonel 
WTells  ordered  a  charge.  In  a  moment  the  Regiment 
was  over  the  wall  and  driving  the  enemy  before  it  with 
great  slaughter.  Pushing  on  more  than  a  mile  from 
any  support,  the  Vermonters  still  in  the  lead,  the  two 
regiments  struck  the  valley  pike  along  which  the 
enemy  w^as  retreating.  Night  was  fast  settling  over 
that  field,  both  lost  and  won,  but  weariness  and  hunger 
were  forgotten  by  the  men  at  the  sight  of  the  rich 
harvest  before  them,  and  they  pushed  on  with  renewed 
energy  to  gather  in  the  spoils  of  the  great  and  un 
paralleled  victory.  Reaching  a  point  half  a  mile 
beyond  Strasburg  they  found  the  road  blockaded  for 
miles  with  guns  and  wagons  and  ambulances  filled  with 
wounded.  Whole  batteries  were  captured,  with  guns, 
men,  and  horses  intact.  Captured  cannon  were  sent 
to  the  rear  in  charge  of  small  squads,  and  wagons  and 
ambulances  by  the  score  were  ordered  back  in  charge 
of  their  rebel  drivers.  The  pursuit  was  kept  up  until 
nearly  midnight,  when  the  Regiment,  satiated  with 
victory,  returned  to  the  north  bank  of  Cedar  Creek, 
having  captured  one  hundred  and  sixty-one  prisoners, 
among  whom  were  one  general,  one  colonel,  and  one 
lieutenant-colonel,  three  battle-flags,  twenty-three 
pieces  of  artillery,  fourteen  caissons,  seventeen  army 
wagons,  six  spring  wagons  and  ambulances,  eighty- 
three  sets  artillery  harness,  seventy-five  sets  wagon 

161 


IN  AFFECTIONATE  MEMORY  OF 

harness,  ninety -eight  horses,  and  sixty -nine  mules. 
Eight  medals  were  awarded  to  the  army  of  the  Shenan- 
doah  for  colors  captured  in  this  battle,  of  which  mem 
bers  of  the  First  Vermont  received  three. 

The  term  of  enlistment  of  the  original  members  of 
the  regiment  having  nearly  expired,  on  October  22, 
twelve  officers  and  two  hundred  and  seventy  men 
were  sent  home  to  be  mustered  out,  some  four  hundred 
re-enlisted  men  and  recruits  remaining  under  the  com 
mand  of  Major  William  G.  Cummings.  During  the 
next  sixty  days  the  Regiment  was  employed  in  outpost 
duty  and  scouting,  keeping  itself  in  fighting  trim 
meanwhile  by  taking  part  in  the  engagement  at  Middle 
Road,  Middletown,  Lacey's  Springs,  and  Waynesboro. 
At  the  close  of  active  operations  it  went  into  camp 
near  Winchester. 

On  the  27th  of  February,  1865,  the  cavalry  in  the 
valley  started  to  join  the  armies  of  the  Potomac  and 
the  James  in  the  operations  around  Petersburg.  After 
twenty-one  days  of  marching,  the  long  column  of  nearly 
ten  thousand  mounted  men  crossed  the  Appomattox 
and  went  into  camp  near  Hancock  Station,  on  the 
military  railroad,  having  made  a  longer  march  within 
the  limits  of  the  Confederacy  than  Sherman's  famous 
march  "from  Atlanta  to  the  sea."  To  any  other  com 
mander  than  Sheridan  such  a  march  would  have  been 
deemed  impossible.  The  rain  fell  incessantly,  and  the 
roads  led  through  streams,  swamps,  mud,  and  obstacles 
that  would  have  been  insurmountable  had  not  the 
whole  command  been  stimulated  with  the  belief  that 
they  were  on  their  way  to  lend  a  helping  hand  in  the 
final  struggle  of  the  war. 

162 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

On  the  morning  of  April  1st  the  Regiment  moved  to 
the  front  of  the  Division,  and  during  the  afternoon  was 
actively  engaged  in  the  battle  of  Five  Forks,  where  it 
captured  a  large  number  of  prisoners.  The  following 
day  it  had  a  slight  skirmish  with  the  enemy's  cavalry 
at  Scott's  Corners.  On  the  3rd  it  had  the  advance  of 
the  cavalry,  and  struck  the  enemy  behind  breast 
works  of  considerable  strength,  behind  a  deep,  muddy 
creek.  A  part  of  the  Regiment  was  dismounted,  and, 
crossing  the  creek  at  some  distance  from  the  road, 
came  down  on  the  flank  and  rear  of  the  works,  which 
were  immediately  abandoned  by  the  enemy.  The 
remainder  of  the  Regiment  having  crossed  the  stream, 
the  enemy  was  followed  up  and  found  in  force  on  the 
summit  of  a  hill  near  Namozine  Church.  The  Regi 
ment  was  formed  in  column  of  battalions  and  charged 
the  enemy,  driving  it  back  upon  its  reserves.  The 
First  Vermont  and  Eighth  New  York  then  charged 
together,  scattering  the  enemy  in  every  direction, 
capturing  their  only  piece  of  artillery  and  many  pris 
oners,  and  continuing  the  pursuit  for  eight  miles. 
General  Sheridan  called  this  engagement  the  battle  of 
Winticomack  Creek,  and  gave  General  Wells  the 
credit  for  its  successful  management. 

On  the  4th  the  Regiment  crossed  Deep  Creek  and 
proceeded  to  Jeter's  Station,  on  the  Richmond  and 
Danville  Railroad,  which  was  reached  the  next  morn 
ing  after  a  tedious  all-night  march.  In  the  opera 
tions  of  the  6th  the  First  Vermont  was  sent  to  the 
extreme  right  of  the  line  and  followed  the  retreating 
enemy  all  day.  During  the  evening  of  the  8th  the 
Regiment  arrived  at  Appomattox  Station,  where  the 

163 


IN  AFFECTIONATE  MEMORY  OF 

enemy's  reserve  artillery  and  ammunition  trains  were 
found.  A  portion  of  Colonel  Wells's  Brigade  was  at 
once  dismounted  and  sent  through  the  woods  to  take 
the  enemy  on  the  flank,  while  the  First  Vermont 
charged  them  in  front.  The  batteries  opened  a  brisk 
fire,  but  were  soon  defeated  with  the  loss  of  thirty  guns 
and  a  large  wagon  train.  Eighteen  of  the  guns  were 
taken  by  Wells's  Brigade,  of  which  number  the  First 
Vermont  captured  eight.  Among  the  captured  guns 
were  those  of  the  famous  Washington  Artillery  of  New 
Orleans,  which  had  long  boasted  of  never  having  lost 
a  gun. 

On  the  morning  of  the  memorable  9th  of  April  the 
Regiment  had  the  advance  of  the  Second  Brigade, 
which  moved  rapidly  forward,  forcing  back  the  enemy's 
skirmish  line.  Moving  to  the  right  to  uncover  the 
Fifth  Corps,  it  passed  along  nearly  the  entire  front  of 
the  enemy's  line  under  the  fire  of  two  batteries,  and 
came  upon  the  rebel  flank  and  rear  in  full  view 
of  the  supply  trains.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Hall  was 
ordered  to  charge  the  train  with  the  First  Vermont, 
and  the  First  Battalion  had  broken  into  a  gallop,  when 
word  was  received  that  General  Lee  had  sent  in  a  flag 
of  truce,  offering  to  surrender  his  army,  but  before  the 
Regiment  could  be  halted  it  had  captured  the  last 
line  between  it  and  the  train,  wrhich  in  a  few  minutes 
more  would  have  been  added  to  its  long  list  of  captures. 

Sabres  were  returned  never  to  be  drawn  again  in  the 
fury  of  battle,  and  the  surrender  having  been  com 
pleted,  the  Regiment  went  into  camp  near  the  scene 
of  its  last  charge.  On  the  following  day  the  Regiment 
started  for  Petersburg,  where  it  arrived  on  the  19th. 

164 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

On  the  24th  it  was  ordered  to  North  Carolina  to  join 
General  Sherman,  but  when  near  South  Boston  learned 
that  Johnston  had  surrendered,  and  immediately  re 
turned  to  Petersburg,  where  it  remained  until  the 
10th  of  May,  when  it  started  for  Washington,  there 
participating  in  the  Grand  Review  on  the  23rd.  June 
9th  it  left  Washington  for  Vermont,  and  on  the  13th 
arrived  at  Burlington,  where  the  men  whose  term  of 
service  would  expire  previous  to  October  1st  were 
immediately  mustered  out.  The  remainder  were 
consolidated  into  six  companies  and  stationed  at 
Saint  Albans,  Vermont,  and  at  different  points  in 
Northern  New  York  until  mustered  out  August  9, 
1865. 

During  its  three  years  of  active  service  in  the  pres 
ence  of  the  enemy  the  Regiment  captured  in  open  field 
three  battle-flags,  thirty-seven  pieces  of  artillery,  and 
more  prisoners  than  it  had  men — a  record  which,  it  is 
believed,  was  not  excelled  by  any  regiment  in  the 
Union  service. 

ENGAGEMENTS 

Mount  Jackson,  Va.,  April  16,  1862. 
McGaheysville,  Va.,  April  27,  1862. 
Middletown,  Va.,  May  24,  1862. 
Winchester,  Va.,  May  25,  1862. 
Luray  Court  House,  Va.,  June  30,  1862. 
Culpeper  Court  House,  Va.,  July  10,  1862. 
Orange  Court  House,  Va.,  August  2,  1862. 
Kelley's  Ford,  Va.,  August  20,  1862. 
Waterloo  Bridge,  Va.,  August  22,  1862. 
Bull  Run,  Va.,  August  30,  1862. 

165 


IN  AFFECTIONATE  MEMORY  OF 

Ashby's  Gap,  Va.,  September  22,  1862. 
Aldie,  Va.,  March  2,  1863. 
Broad  Run,  Va.,  April  1,  1863. 
Greenwich,  Va.,  May  30,  1863. 
Warrenton,  Va.,  June  18,  1863. 
Hanover,  Pa.,  June  30,  1863. 
Hunterstown,  Pa.,  July  2,  1863. 
Gettysburg,  Pa.,  July  3,  1863. 
Monterey,  Pa.,  July  4,  1863. 
Leitersville,  Md.,  July  5,  1863. 
Hagerstown,  Md.,  July  6,  1863. 
Boonsboro,  Md.,  July  8,  1863. 
Hagerstown,  Md.,  July  13,  1863. 
Falling  Waters,  Va.,  July  14,  1863. 
Port  Conway,  Va.,  August  25,  1863. 
Port  Conway,  Va.,  September  1,  1863. 
Culpeper  Court  House,  Va.,  September  13,  1863. 
Somerville  Ford,  Va.,  September  14,  1863. 
Raccoon  Ford,  Va.,  September  15,  1863. 
James  City,  Va.,  October  10,  1863. 
Brandy  Station,  Va.,  October  11,  1863. 
Gainesville,  Va.,  October  18  and  19,  1863. 
Buckland  Mills,  Va.,  October  19,  1863. 
Falmouth,  Va.,  November  4,  1863. 
Morton's  Ford,  Va.,  November  28,  1863. 
Mechanicsville,  Va.,  March  1,  1864. 
Piping  Tree,  Va.,  March  2,  1864. 
Craig's  Meeting  House,  Va.,  May  5,  1864. 
Spottsylvania,  Va.,  May  8,  1864. 
Yellow  Tavern,  Va.,  May  11,  1864. 
Meadow  Bridge,  Va.,  May  12,  1864. 
Hanover  Court  House,  Va.,  May  31,  1864. 

166 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

Ashland,  Va.,  June  1,  1864. 
Hawe's  Shop,  Va.,  June  3,  1864. 
Bottom's  Bridge,  Va.,  June  10,  1864. 
White  Oak  Swamp,  Va.,  June  13,  1864. 
Riddle's  Shop,  Va.,  June  13,  1864. 
Malvern  Hill,  Va.,  June  15,  1864. 
Ream's  Station,  Va.,  June  22,  1864. 
Nottoway  Court  House,  Va.,  June  23,  1864. 
Roanoke  Station,  Va.,  June  25,  1864. 
Stony  Creek,  Va.,  June  28  and  29,  1864. 
Ream's  Station,  Va.,  June  29,  1864. 
Winchester,  Va.,  August  17,  1864. 
Summit  Point,  Va.,  August  21,  1864. 
Charlestown,  W.  Va.,  August  22,  1864. 
Kearneysville,  W.  Va.,  August  25,  1864. 
Opequan,  Va.,  September  19,  1864. 
Front  Royal,  Va.,  September  21,  1864. 
Gooney  Manor  Grade,  Va.,  September  21,  1864. 
Milford,  Va.,  September  22,  1864. 
W7aynesboro,  Va.,  September  28,  1864. 
Columbia  Furnace,  Va.,  October  7,  1864. 
Toms  Brook,  Va.,  October  9,  1864. 
Cedar  Creek,  Va.,  October  13,  1864. 
Cedar  Creek,  Va.,  October  19,  1864. 
Middle  Road,  Va.,  November  11,  1864. 
Middle  and  Back  Roads,  or  Middletown,  Va.,  Novem 
ber  12,  1864. 

Lacey's  Springs,  Va.,  December  21,  1864. 
Waynesboro,  Va.,  March  2,  1865. 
Five  Forks,  Va.,  April  1,  1865. 
Scotts  Corners,  Va.,  April  2,  1865. 
Namozine  Creek,  Va.,  April  3,  1865. 

167 


IN  AFFECTIONATE  MEMORY  OF 


Namozine  Church,  or  Winticomack  Creek,  Va.,  April  3, 

1865. 

Appomattox  Station,  Va.,  April  3,  1865. 
Appomattox  Court  House,  Va.,  April  9,  1865. 

STATISTICAL 

Killed,  died  of  disease  or  wounds,  wounded,  pris 
oners,  and  missing  from  each  company,  and  the  regi 
mental  Field  and  Staff  will  be  found  in  the  following 
list: 


COMPANY 

a 

fc  O 

a 

H 

a 

i 

0 
•jf, 

5 

K  * 

s 

i 

1 

H 

* 

Q 

s 

PN 

S 

£ 

A 

3 

26 

33 

78 

2 

142 

B 

4 

28 

28 

65 

6 

131 

C  

5 

28 

40 

64 

1 

138 

D      

4 

36 

26 

67 

0 

133 

E 

9 

23 

28 

46 

2 

108 

F  

3 

31 

24 

35 

1 

94 

G  

0 

34 

25 

94 

0 

153 

H 

10 

23 

32 

56 

2 

123 

I  

8 

24 

24 

61 

0 

117 

K       .  . 

3 

24 

30 

47 

0 

104 

L  

10 

19 

27 

43 

0 

99 

M 

3 

18 

4 

38 

0 

63 

F  and  S  

1 

3 

9 

10 

0 

23 

63 

317 

330 

704 

14 

1,428 

Total  enlistment,  including  officers,  2,304. 

Percentage  of  killed,  died  of  disease  or  wounds, 
wounded,  prisoners,  and  missing,  nearly  sixty-two. 

The  last  Vermont  soldier  killed  in  battle  was  Private 
George  B.  Dunn,  of  Company  M,  First  Vermont  Cav- 

168 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

airy,  April  8,  1865,  and  the  last  wounded  was  Lieu 
tenant  Willard  Farrington,  of  Company  L,  of  the 
same  regiment,  early  in  the  evening  of  April  8,  1865. 

Colonel  William  F.  Fox,  in  his  work  entitled  "Regi 
mental  Losses  in  the  American  Civil  War,"  mentions 
nine  regiments  which  lost  from  one  hundred  and  nine 
teen  to  one  hundred  and  seventy -four  men  each  killed 
or  mortally  wounded  in  action.  In  this  list  the  First 
Vermont  Cavalry  stands  fifth.  It  is  admitted  that 
this  regiment  was  second  to  none,  however,  in  capture 
of  guns,  prisoners,  and  battle-flags. 

NAMES  AND  POST  OFFICE  ADDRESSES  OF 

SURVIVORS  OF  THE  FIRST  VERMONT 

CAVALRY,  OCTOBER  13,  1913 

FIELD  AND  STAFF 

COLONELS 

Charles  H.  Tompkins,  Washington,  D.  C. 
Edward  B.  Sawyer,  Hyde  Park,  Vt. 

LIEUTENANT-COLONEL 

John  W.  Bennett,  Austin  Station,  Chicago,  111. 

MAJORS 

Robert  Schofield,  Kilburn  City,  Wis. 
A.  J.  Grover,  746  Maple  Ave.,  Los  Angeles,  Cal. 

ADJUTANT 

Clarence  D.  Gates,  Burlington,  Vt. 

ASSISTANT    SURGEONS 

P.  O'Meara  Edson,  36  Elm  Hill  Ave.,  Boston,  Mass. 
Edward  B.  Nims,  Springfield,  Mass. 

169 


IN  AFFECTIONATE  MEMORY  OF 

CHAPLAIN 

John  E.  Goodrich,  Burlington,  Vt. 

NON-COMMISSIONED    STAFF 
QUARTERMASTER    SERGEANTS 

Henry  A.  Curtis,  Tacoma  Park,  Washington,  D.  C. 
William  C.  Joyce,  Northfield,  Vt. 

HOSPITAL    STEWARD 

George  W.  Brush,  Proctor,  Vt. 

CHIEF    BUGLER 

Laforest  M.  Smith,  Hyde  Park,  Vt. 

COMPANY  A 

CAPTAINS 

Ellis  B.  Edwards,  Yonkers,  N.  Y. 
Harris  B.  Mitchell,  Maiden,  Mass. 

LIEUTENANT 

Henry  O.  Wheeler,  Burlington,  Vt. 

SERGEANTS 

George  A.  Edwards,  Richmond,  Vt. 
Henry  C.  Smith,  Burlington,  Vt. 

CORPORALS 

Francis  B.  Macomber,  Westford,  Vt. 
Michael  Quinlan,  North  Ferrisburg,  Vt. 

SADDLER    SERGEANT 

Andrew  W.  Taylor,  Ord,  Neb. 

WAGONER 

John  Hogan,  Parkersburg,  W.  Va 

170 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

BLACKSMITH 

Mark  S.  Moore,  Granville,  N.  Y. 

PRIVATES 

Allen,  Samuel  J.,  Vergennes,  Vt. 

Blinn,  Charles  H.,  Custom  House,  San  Francisco,  Cal. 

Carroll,  James,  Jericho,  Vt. 

Farnsworth,  Silas  A.,  Moretown,  Vt. 

Fay,  Irving  E.,   National  Soldiers'  Home,  Kennebec 

County,  Me 

Greene,  Lester  C.,  Crowley,  La. 
Grow,  Jerome  H.,  Bethel,  Vt. 
Hall,  Alexander,  Shelburne,  Vt. 
Hood,  Albert,  Woodsville,  N.  H. 
McKenna,  Bernard,  Montpelier,  Vt. 
Rouban,  James,  East  Orange,  R.  F.  D.  Washington,  Vt. 
Ryan,  Thomas  G.,  Cambridge,  Vt. 
Shanahan,  John,  Proctor,  Vt. 
Shannon,  James,  Albia,  Iowa. 
Sprague,  Sylvester,  Newaygo,  Mich. 
Stone,  Henry  H.,  Elizabethtown,  N.  Y. 
Stowe,  Wlllard  S.,  Glen  wood,  Iowa 
Taft,  Levi  A.,  Huntington,  Vt. 
Taft,  Milo  S.,  Huntington  Center,  Vt. 
Tart,  Abel,  Whallonsburg,  N.  Y. 
Upham,  John,  Wallingford,  Conn. 
Weber,  George,  915  Avenue  C,  San  Antonio,  Tex. 
WThipple,  Edward  J.,  Ashland,  Neb. 

COMPANY  B 
CAPTAIN 

William  M.  Beeman,  Hartford,  Conn. 

171 


IN  AFFECTIONATE  MEMORY  OF 

LIEUTENANTS 

Anson  L.  Chandler,  Bradford,  Vt. 

Charles  B.  Stone,  Avon,  Colo. 

Eri  D.  Woodbury,  Cheshire,  Conn. 

SERGEANTS 

Antoine  Fortuna,  Rodney,  Iowa. 

Samuel  Ufford,  Lewiston,  Minn.,  R.  D.  2. 

QUARTERMASTER    SERGEANTS 

William  C.  Humphrey,  30  West  Third  St.,  Saint  Paul, 

Minn. 
John  W.  Erwin,  Derby  Center,  R.  F.  D.  Derby  Line,  Vt. 

CORPORALS 

Warren  W.  Conger,  Rutland,  Vt. 
Orris  P.  Knight,  North  Hero,  Vt. 
Eugene  B.  Soule,  Ripon,  W7is. 

WAGONER 
James  A.  Davis,  Starksboro,  Vt. 

SADDLER 

Deforest  Shattack,  Hatfield,  Mass. 

PRIVATES 

Austin,  Julius  R.,  North  Creek,  N.  Y. 
Ballard,  James  N.,  Hyde  Park,  Vt. 
Barrows,  Alphonzo,  Burlington,  Vt. 
Bates,  George  L.,  Manchester,  N.  H. 
Benjamin,  Joseph  S.  M.,  Plainfield,  Vt. 
Bonner,  L.  H.,  Pasadena,  Cal. 
Bowen,  William  B.,  Bozeman,  Mont. 
Brigham,  Antipas,  Hudson,  N.  Y. 

172 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

Brown,  John,  East  Richford,  Vt. 

Carter,  Allen  H.,  Groton,  Vt. 

Cavanaugh,  James,  National  Soldiers'  Home,  Kennebec 

County,  Me. 

Corse,  Malcom  L.,  Fort  Worth,  Tex. 
Cota,  Charles  H.,  Saint  Albans,  Vt. 
Currier,  George  W.,  Waterville,  Vt. 
Daniels,  Noble  A.,  Telluride,  Colo. 
Dean,  Calvin,  West  Berkshire,  Vt. 
Domina,  Darius,  Montgomery,  Vt. 
Henry,  William  P.,  16  Winslow  Road,  Brookline,  Mass. 
Hickok,  Charles  H.,  Wakefield,  Mass. 
Hull,  George  J.,  Franklin,  Vt. 
Hutchinson,  Peter  P.,  Morrisville,  Vt. 
Kinney,  Francis  B.,  Milton,  Vt. 
Loveland,  Nathan,  South  Hadley  Falls,  Mass. 
Pratt,  Jerome  J.,  46  Dix  St.,  Boston,  Mass. 
Putnam,  Emerson,  Northfield,  Mass. 
Scott,  P.  M.,  Appleton,  Minn. 
Sharrow,  George  W.,  Sheldon,  Vt.,  R.  D.  1. 
St.  Germain,  Marshall,  Saint  Albans,  Vt. 
Stetson,  Horace  B.,  North  Troy,  Vt. 
Touchett,  Francis,  Montgomery  Center,  Vt. 
W7ilson,  Merritt,  Cambridge,  Vt. 

COMPANY  C 

CAPTAIN 
Mason  A.  Stone,  82  Beacon  St.,  New  York  City. 

LIEUTENANTS 

Barney  Decker,  Danby,  Vt. 
Perley  C.  J.  Cheney,  Dover,  N.  H. 

173 


IN  AFFECTIONATE  MEMORY  OF 

SERGEANTS 

Thomas  S.  May,  Athens,  Pa. 
Marcus  M.  Rice,  Saint  Albans,  Vt. 
Lester  K.  Stiles,  East  Westmoreland,  N.  H. 
Chester  L.  Dwyer,  Wood  Lake,  Neb. 
Harvey  S.  Dow,  Lower  Cabot,  Vt. 

QUARTERMASTER    SERGEANT 

Samuel  C.  Vorce,  Randolph  Center,  Vt. 

CORPORALS 

Orange  A.  Baldwin,  Hinesburg,  Vt. 
Horace  Burnham,  East  Calais,  Vt. 
Francis  H.  Ketchum,  Randolph,  Vt. 
Albert  George,  Hard  wick,  Vt. 

PRIVATES 

Allen,  Chauncey  M.,  Woonsocket,  S.  D. 
Bailey,  Walter,   National   Soldiers'   Home,  Kennebec 

County,  Me. 

Bannister,  Foster  L.,  South  Weymouth,  Mass. 
Barrows,  Martin,  Middlebury,  Vt. 
Blancherd,  Timothy,  Williamstown,  Vt. 
Brunelle,  Toussant,  Canaan,  Vt. 
Carrigan,  Thomas,  118  West  St.,  Worcester,  Mass. 
Clark,  Leonard  G.,  526  Jervis  St.,  Toledo,  Ohio. 
Clough,  Franklin  H.,  Wilmot,  N.  H. 
Coburn,  Benjamin  F.,  Montpelier,  Vt. 
Coburn,  David,  Lyme,  N.  H. 
Edson,  Henry  L.,  Brookfield,  Vt. 
Gordon,  John  W.,  Montpelier,  Vt. 
Hammond,  Orange  S.,  Nevada,  Iowa. 
Hastings,  Flavel  J.,  Middlesex,  Vt. 

174 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

Ingram,  John,  Granby,  P.  Q. 
Kent,  Sanford  H.,  Northfield,  Vt. 
Kneeland,  Seymour  L.,  Tewksbury,  Mass. 
Lewis,  Frederick  A.,  Northfield,  Vt. 
McAllister,  Ziba  H.,  Waitsfield,  Vt. 
Northrop,  Albert  A.,  Barre,  Vt. 
Palmer,  John  W.,  Waitsfield,  Vt. 
Savery,  George  W.,  Wfilliamstown,  Vt. 
Stevens,  Daniel  W.,  East  Hard  wick,  Vt. 
Vincent,  Noah  W.,  Mound  City,  Kan. 
Wheeler,  John  A.,  Irasburg,  Vt. 

COMPANY  D 

LIEUTENANT 

Stephen  A.  Clark,  Willow  Lake,  S.  D. 

SERGEANTS 

Martin  V.  B.  Sargent,  Danville,  Vt. 
Daniel  C.  Walker,  Jefferson ville,  Vt. 
James  W7right,  Sidney,  Iowa. 

QUARTERMASTER    SERGEANT 

John  C.  Gracey,  Peacham,  Vt. 

CORPORALS 

Benjamin  F.  Clifford,  Danville,  Vt. 

Carlos  Kingsbury,  West  Washington,  R.  F.D.  Barre,  Vt. 

BLACKSMITH 

Enoch  Aiken,  Keene,  N.  H. 

PRIVATES 

Austin,  George  A.,  Piermont,  N.  H. 
Benoit,  Frederick,  906  Harrison  St.,  Chicago,  111. 
Brown,  Lorenzo,  Lunenburg,  Vt. 
Buck,  WTilliam  N.,  261  Essex  St.,  Salem,  Mass. 

175 


IN  AFFECTIONATE  MEMORY  OF 

Burnham,  Frank  E.,  Littleton,  N.  H. 

Cilley,  Edwin  J.,  Hanover,  N.  H. 

Clifford,  Commodore  W.,  Warren,  N.  H. 

Curtis,  Antipas  H.,  Care  of  Geo.  B.  Day,  P.  O.  Box  52, 

Berlin,  N.  H. 

Duraw,  Jerry,  Stonington,  Conn. 
Hall,  Oliver  C.,  Saint  Johnsbury,  Vt. 
Hartson,  Abel,  Danville,  Vt. 
Higgins,  Samuel  L.,  Manchester,  N.  H. 
Hutton,  Abia,  Westville,  N.  H. 
Kennison,  A.  H.,  Camden,  N.  Y. 
Leet,  Charles,  Delphi  Falls,  N.  Y. 
Leet,  Henry,  Topsham,  Vt. 
Long,  Clark  L.,  Rutland,  Vt. 
Marckres,  Harvey  A.,  San  Jose,  Cal. 
Moore,  Henry  A.,  Barnet,  Vt. 
Morse,  John  F.,  East  Peacham,  Vt. 
Palmer,  Nathan  P.,  Thompson ville,  Conn. 
Roundy,  William  R.,  West  Burke,  Vt. 
Sargent,  Harrison  E.,  Berwick,  Me. 
Stacy,  Curtis  L.,  Concord,  Vt. 
Stevens,  Z.  T.,  Bethany,  Mo. 
Waldo,  Darwin  E.,  Cabot,  Vt. 
Wheaton,  WTilliam  M.,  Ottumwa,  Iowa. 
Wheeler,  Mark  M.,  East  Peacham,  Vt. 
Wiggins,  Frederick  C.,  209  Vaughan  St.,  Portland,  Me. 
Woodward,  William,  Groveton,  N.  H. 
Worthing,  George  B.,  Ayers  Cliff,  Canada,  P.  Q. 

COMPANY  E 

LIEUTENANT 

Richard  A.  Seaver,  Hartford,  Vt. 

176 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

SERGEANTS 

Albert  W.  Allen,  24  Oak  Ave.,  Leominster,  Mass. 
Charles  Wheeler,  Springfield,  Vt. 
John  M.  Buckley,  Chicopee,  Mass. 

COMMISSARY    SERGEANT 

Eugene  H.  Abels,  520  Ellicott  Square,  Buffalo,  N.  Y. 

CORPORALS 

Valton  C.  Bailey,  Marlow,  N.  H. 

M.  Lafayette  Perham,  Springfield,  Vt. 

Oscar  M.  Parkhurst,  Springfield,  Vt. 

BLACKSMITHS 

David  B.  Daniels,  Kansas  City,  Mo. 

William  Stafford,  1253  Fifth  Ave.,  Watervliet,  N.  Y. 

PRIVATES 

Aikens,  George  C.,  Everett,  Mass. 

Blake,  E.  B.,  Greenfield,  Mass. 

Bride,  Henry  A.,  Pulaski,  111. 

Bridge,  George  E.,  Felchville,  Vt. 

Bromley,  Erwin  E.,  Dodge  Center,  Minn. 

Brush,  Solomon  H.,  Stowe,  Vt. 

Bryant,  Carlos,  Hammondsville,  R.  F.  D.  Felchville,  Vt. 

Carter,  Constant,  (address  unknown.) 

Clapp,  Albert  S.,  Springfield,  Neb. 

Crowell,    Alexander,    East    Barnard,    R.  F.  D.   South 

Royalton,  Vt. 

Fassett,  Dean  B.,  Randolph,  Vt. 
Finney,  Mitchell  J.,  Hinesburg,  Vt. 
Gould,  Amos,  Perkinsville,  Vt. 
Haskins,  Marcus,  Jericho  Center,  Vt. 
Kendall,  Albert  A.,  Enosburg  Falls,  Vt. 

177 


IN  AFFECTIONATE  MEMORY  OF 

Labell,  Peter,  Barre,  Vt. 

Lafonde,  Thomas,  La  Bale,  Canada,  P.  Q. 

Lee,  Alonzo  N.,  Bellows  Falls,  Vt. 

Lyon,  Josiah  T.,  Omaha,  Neb. 

May,  Edgar,  Norwood,  Mass. 

Messer,  Allen  P.,  Claremont,  N.  H. 

Partridge,  Monroe,  Wessington,  S.  D. 

Pendergast,  Michael  W.,  West  Concord,  Minn, 

Perry,  Edward  A.,  South  Woodstock,  Vt. 

Potter,  Charles  H.,  Bridge  water  Vt. 

Priest,  Samuel,  Barton,  Vt. 

Royes,  B.,  3372  Indiana  Ave.,  Chicago,  111. 

Scott,  Marcus  D.,  Beecher  Falls,  Vt. 

Sleeper,  Charles  T.,  West  Groton,  Mass. 

Sleeper,  James  M.,  South  Woodstock,  Vt. 

Snow,  Sylvester  M.,  West  Hartford,  Vt. 

Stevens,  John  W.,  Lancaster,  N.  H. 

Stone,  Edmund,  Beverly,  Mass. 

Taylor,  Edwin  S.,  Brownsville,  Vt. 

Thompson,  Charles  H.,  Felchville,  Vt. 

Willard,  John  H.,  Ludlow,  Vt. 

Wood,  Charles  H.,  Hanover,  N.  H. 

Young,  Hosea  B.,  White  River  Junction,  Vt. 

COMPANY  F 

LIEUTENANT 

Henry  C.  Streeter,  Brattleboro,  Vt. 

SERGEANTS 

John  A.  Eddy,  Dalton,  Mass. 
John  M.  Nash,  Saint  Albans,  Vt. 

178 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

QUARTERMASTER    SERGEANT 

John  A.  Thwing,  Bellows  Falls,  Vt. 

COMMISSARY    SERGEANTS 

Charles  R.  Farr,  Northampton,  Mass. 

James  H.  Woodburn,  Wessington  Springs,  S.  D. 

PRIVATES 

Adams,  Newall  H.,  Traer,  Iowa. 

Bancroft,  Fernando,  Sparta,  Wis. 

Brink,  Darwin  A.,  Brandon,  Vt. 

Dickenson,  Nathaniel  P.,  Shelton,  Neb. 

Farr,  Ransom  C.,  West  Chesterfield,  N.  H. 

Field,  George  W.,  Proctor,  Vt. 

Fisher,  William  H.,  Brattleboro,  Vt. 

Gilles,  Simeon  J.,  Marysville,  Kan. 

Greene,  William  F.,  Dighton,  Kan. 

Jillson,  John  S.,  Brattleboro,  Vt. 

Lamphere,  George  A.,  Vienna,  Va. 

Miner,  Charles,  Brandon,  Vt. 

Peck,  Theodore  S.,  Burlington,  Vt. 

Sherman,  Nathan  A.,  York,  Neb. 

Simpson,  Edwin  E.,  Saint  Johnsbury  Center,  Vt. 

Tuttle,  Norman  E.,  East  Wallingford,  Vt. 

Wallin,  Harrison,  Halifax,  Vt. 

Warner,  Myron  C.,  Proctor,  Vt. 

Woodward,  Flavil,  Greenfield,  Mass. 

COMPANY  G 

LIEUTENANT 

James  Barrett,  North  Clarendon,  Vt. 

179 


IN  AFFECTIONATE  MEMORY  OF 

COMMISSARY    SERGEANT 

Hiram  W.  Waters,  Castleton,  Vt. 

MUSICIAN 

Horatio  N.  Leach,  Los  Angeles,  Cal. 

WAGONER 

Hiram  S.  Hall,  North  Bennington,  Vt. 

PRIVATES 

Bailey,  Henry  M.,  Glens  Falls,  N.  Y. 
Bartlett,  Charles  A.,  La  Crosse,  Wis. 
Barton,  Charles,  Bennington,  Vt. 
Belford,  John,  Acona,  R.  F.  D.  Lexington,  Miss. 
Benson,  Homer,  Coldwater,  Mich. 
Burroughs,  Thomas,  Alexandria,  Va. 
Dayer,  Fayette,  Pasadena,  Cal. 

Demore,  Medor,  97  Knox  Ave.,  Minneapolis,  Minn. 
Eddy,  Daniel  W.,  Hoosick  Falls,  N.  Y. 
Fitzgerald,  Philip  H.,  Pawpaw,  111. 
Gault,  Jerome,  Arlington,  Vt. 
Graves,  Noble  W.,  New  Britain,  Conn. 
Harrington,  William,  Bennington,  Vt. 
Harrington,  W.  J.,  Salisbury,  Vt. 
Hill,  John  H.,  Pownal,  Vt. 
Hosley,  Thomas  C.,  Arlington,  Vt. 
Howe,  Theron,  Wells,  Vt. 
Kearce,  Mort,  Niles,  Kan. 
Kent,  Rollin  D.,  Manchester  Depot,  Vt. 
Kilbourne,  A.  J.,  Manchester  Center,  Vt. 
Marsh,  Edward  A.,  Leominster,  Mass. 
Saunders,    James,    Sunderland,   R.    F.   D.    Arlington, 
Vt. 

180 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

Sculley,   Barnet,   National  Soldiers'  Home,  Kennebec 

County,  Me. 

Stone,  Richard,  Danby,  Vt. 
Towsley,  Nathaniel,  Manchester,  Vt. 
Webb,  Arnold,  Sunderland,  R.  F.  D.  Arlington,  Vt. 
West,  C.  H.,  Anaconda,  Mont. 
Wlieeler,  L.  D.,  Bell  Center,  Wis. 
Wilson,  Alonzo  R.,  Hollis,  N.  H. 
W'yman,  Myron  G.,  Saint  Paul,  Minn. 

COMPANY  H 

CAPTAINS 

Frank  T.  Huntoon,  16  W7est  25th  St.,  New  York. 
Emmett  Mather,  11  Grimshaw  St.,  Chicago,  111. 

SERGEANTS 

Royal  E.  Bostwick,  South  Londonderry,  Vt. 
Samuel  Dowling,  Rutland,  Vt. 

CORPORALS 

Alonzo  E.  Doty,  Belmont,  Vt. 

Sewell  S.  Whitcomb,   West  Randolph,  R.  F.  D.  Ran 
dolph,  Vt. 

Stephen  Corey,  Hampton,  Va. 

BUGLER 

Charles  C.  Leland,  617  East  Nineteenth  St.,  Minne 
apolis,  Minn. 

BLACKSMITH 

Patrick  Callighan,  West  Rutland,  Vt. 

PRIVATES 

Bailey,  William  H.,  North  Wolcott,  Vt. 
Bean,  William  M.,  South  Wheelock,  R.  F.  D.  Lyndon- 
ville,  Vt. 

181 


IN  AFFECTIONATE  MEMORY  OF 

Bishop,  Orlando  S.,  Rutland,  Vt. 

Bovia,  John,  Sleepy  Eye,  Minn. 

Brockney,  Joseph,  Burlington,  Vt. 

Bugbee,  Daniel  W.,  Bellows  Falls,  Vt. 

Butler,  John,  Raceville,  N.  Y. 

Buxton,  Stephen  L.,  Lyons,  Iowa. 

Churchill,  Charles  H.,  Brandon,  Vt. 

Churchill,  Edwin  R.,  North  Platte,  Neb. 

Currier,  George  A.,  Colebrook,  N.  H. 

Davis,  Don  C.,  Harrison ville,  Mo. 

Dupuy,  John  A.,  Derby,  Conn. 

Dyer,  Frank,  Ware,  Mass. 

Earle,  Henry  J.,  Brockton,  Mass. 

Flynn,  William,  Alton,  111. 

Fuller,  Myron  C.,  Bloomfield,  Vt. 

Greenough,  David,  Pittsford,  Vt. 

Guertin,  Joseph,  Wallingford,  Vt. 

Jones,  William,  Pittsford,  Vt. 

Ladderbush,  Frank,  Pittsford,  Vt. 

Locklin,  Ralph,  Marion,  Kan. 

Menard,  Renay,  Southington,  Conn. 

Pearsons,  Collamer,  Poultney,  Vt. 

Price,  Isaac,  Tyro,  Kan. 

Ranney,  Edson  H.,  West  Concord,  R.F.D.  Concord,  Vt. 

Robie,  F.  C.,  Coos,  N.  H.,  R.  F.  D.  2. 

Stoddard,  Edgar,  Colebrook,  N.  H. 

Wellman,  Austin  B.,  Wallingford,  Vt. 

Wheeler,  Cullen,  Castleton,  Vt. 

COMPANY  I 

CAPTAIN 

Josiah  Grout,  Derby  Center,  R.  F.  D.  Derby  Line,  Vt. 

182 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

LIEUTENANT 

James  T.  Stevens,  Hyde  Park,  Vt. 

QUARTERMASTER    SERGEANTS 

Aaron  M.  Crane,  5  Durham  St.,  Boston,  Mass. 

CORPORALS 

Albert  E.  Cowles,  North  Craftsbury,  Vt. 
Mark  Warner,  East  Hardwick,  Vt. 

SADDLER 

William  Sparrow,  Springfield,  Vt. 

BLACKSMITH 

Samuel  H.  Kaiser,  Stowe,  Vt. 

PRIVATES 

Bickford,  George  D.,  Sheffield,  Vt. 
Boden,  Edward,  Duarte,  Cal. 

Brooks,  Reuben  E.,  East  Albany,  R.  F.  D.  Irasburg,  Vt. 
Bundy,  George  G.,  Morrisville,  Vt. 
Clark,  S.  B.,  Templeton,  Mass. 
Drew,  Ira  S.,  Irasburg,  Vt. 
Durkee,  Royal  E.,  Orange,  Mass. 
Enos,  Joseph,  Franklin,  N.  H. 
Ferry,  Francis  E.,  South  Sutton,  N.  H. 
Flanders,  Joseph  T.,  Springfield,  Wis. 
Gauthier,  Joseph,  Toledo,  Ohio. 
Gibson,  Thomas  R.,  Plainfield,  Vt. 
Greaves,  James,  Rutland,  Vt. 
Hall,  William  H.,  Portage,  King  Co.,  Wash. 
Jackson,  G.  W.,  Waterville,  Conn. 
Malony,  William  J.,  North  Troy,  Vt. 
Martin,  Julius  H.,  1214  Magnolia  Ave.,  Los  Angeles, 
Cal. 

183 


IN  AFFECTIONATE  MEMORY  OF 

Martin,  Russell  C.,  423  College  St.,  Los  Angeles,  Cal. 

Maxfield,  John  B.,  New  Hampton,  Iowa. 

Needham,  Edward  C.,  Norwich,  Vt. 

Norris,  Richard  C.,  Boon,  Mich. 

Page,  Austin  A.,  Irasburg,  Vt. 

Pettingill,  Harry  B.,  Beecher  Falls,  Vt. 

Skinner,  George  E.,  Nyssa,  Ore. 

Spofford,  George  S.,  East  Atlanta,  Ga. 

Taylor,  A.  W.,  Saint  Edward,  Neb. 

Tice,  Robert  S.,  Coventry,  Vt. 

Washburn,  Edward  A.,  Crown  Point,  N.  Y. 

Waterman,  Alonzo  E.,  124  Tazwell  St.,  Norfolk,  Va. 

Webber,  Philip,  Newbury  Center,  R.F.D.  Newbury,  Vt. 

Weber,  George,  Groton,  Vt. 

Wheelock,  Elisha  B.,  Plymouth,  N.  H. 

Whitcher,  O.  C.,  Albany,  Vt. 

Whitney,  Abija  F.,  Morrisville,  Vt. 

W'oodbury,  Henry,  Box  202,  Keene,  N.  H. 

COMPANY  K 

CAPTAIN 
Edwin  H.  Higbee,  Groton,  Mass. 

SERGEANTS 

John  Goodrow,  Ripton,  Vt. 
Horace  Lapham,  Shoreham,  Vt. 

CORPORALS 

Frank  Goodrow,  Brattleboro,  Vt. 
James  Bodoin,  Cornwall,  R.  F.  D.  Middlebury,  Vt. 

PRIVATES 

Chilson,   Eugene,   2313   Portland  Ave.,   Minneapolis, 
Minn. 

184 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

Conant,    William   J.,    Panton,    R.    F.    D.    Vergennes, 

Vt. 

Craig,  Myron,  Stanbridge  East,  P.  Q. 
Fales,  Myron  L.,  Middlebury,  Vt. 
Gaulett,  Lewis,  Middlebury,  Vt. 
Gibbs,  Henry  G.,  Lisbon,  Iowa. 
Guyette,  Frank,  Stony  Point,  N.  Y. 
Hatch,  Isaac  F.,  Burlington,  Vt. 
Heitmann,  Hermann  H.,  Orwell,  Vt. 
Jackson,  John  W.,  Port  Henry,  N.  Y. 
Jones,  Edwin  E.,  Middlebury;  Vt. 
La  Vake,  Lewis,  Montour,  Iowa. 
Lewis,  David  H.,  1714  Grand  Ave.,  Knoxville,  Tenn. 
McSorley,  John,  Malone,  N.  Y. 
Mayhew,  Alfred,  Bennington,  Vt.,  R.  D.  2. 
Mayhew.  Frank,  West  Cornwall,  R.  F.  D.  Middlebury, 

Vt. 

Pecu,  William,  Ferrisburg,  Vt. 
Rock,  George  H.,  New  Bedford,  Mass. 
Young,  Francis,  Morris ville,  Vt. 
Youtt,  Charles  E.,  Middlebury,  Vt. 

COMPANY  L 

SERGEANTS 

George  L.  McBride,  Burlington,  Vt. 
Seymour  H.  Wood,  Saint  Albans,  Vt. 
Truman  B.  Webster,  Shelburne,  Vt. 
Charles  H.  McCarroll,  Saint  Albans,  Vt. 
William  A.  Clapp,  Denver,  Colo. 

COMMISSARY    SERGEANT 

Samuel  S.  Watson,  Muskegon,  Mich. 

185 


IN  AFFECTIONATE  MEMORY  OF 

CORPORALS 

Charles  C.  Bennett,  Bridgewater,  Mass. 

Clarence  H.  Cornell,  113  West  Twelfth  St.,  New  York 
City. 

Charles  Marchessault,  3118  Russell  Ave.,  Minne 
apolis,  Minn. 

Andrew  A.  Smith,  in  Regular  Army,  U.  S. 

Josiah  A.  Fobes,  Beloit,  Kan. 

Isaac  Ryan,  Stevens  Mills,  Vt. 

BUGLER 
Gilbert  Buckman,  Sacramento,  CaL 

PRIVATES 

Avery,  Seymour,  Enosburg  Falls,  Vt. 
Blinn,  William  F.,  Penacook,  N.  H. 
Burlett,  Abram,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
Carr,  Hezakiah  B.,  Underbill,  Vt. 
Clark,  William  A.,  Haverhill,  Mass. 
Cleveland,  William  H.,  Hoyt,  Okla. 
Cornell,  Charles,  North  Chelmsford,  Mass. 
Cox,  Albert  F.,  Providence,  R.  I. 
Erwin,  Charles  L.,  Newport  Center,  Vt. 
Fobes,  Aaron  E.,  Underbill,  Vt. 
Gingham,  Enos,  Hartland,  Vt. 
Greene,  Sidney  T.,  Schenectady,  N.  Y.,  R.  D.  1. 
Hand,  John,  East  Fairfield,  Vt. 
Irish,  Calvin  H.,  Northfield,  Mass. 
Irish,  Horace  N.,  Home,  Bennington,  Vt. 
Munsell,  William  H.,  Wells  River,  Vt. 
O'Claire,  Peter,  Bennington,  Vt. 
Perkins,  Ahira  H.,  Manchester,  N.  H. 
Pratt,  Henry  W.,  East  Berkshire,  Vt. 

186 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

Rand,  George  B.,  Burlington,  Vt. 
Rawley,  Edward,  Adams,  Mass. 
Stoughton,  Augustus  C.,  Burlington,  Vt. 
White,  Joseph,  Sheldon,  Vt. 
WTolcott,  Edgar  J.,  Essex  Junction,  Vt. 

COMPANY  M 

SERGEANTS 

John  Kinnehan,  Saint  James  Hotel,  San  Antonio,  Tex. 
John  Aldrich,  Island  Pond,  Vt. 

BUGLER 
Azro  F.  Hackett,  Proctor,  Vt. 

PRIVATES 

Carleton,  Charles,  1011  Walnut  St.,  Chicago,  111. 

Consigney,  John  F.,  Audubon,  Iowa. 

Deso,  Alvah,  Swanton,  Vt. 

Farrington,  George  M.,  Burlington,  Vt. 

Fullington,  Birney  S.,  Johnson,  Vt. 

Jackson,  Hiram  F.,  Westford,  Vt. 

Jordan,  Francis,  Saint  Jerome,  P.  Q. 

Landor,  Peter,  Burlington,  Vt. 

Leavitt,  Edwin  B.,  141  Elm  St.,  Biddeford,  Me. 

Parker,  Myron  M.,  1418  F  St.,  N.  W.,  Washington, 
D.  C. 

St.  Michael,  Charles,  710  North  Twenty-fourth  St., 
Richmond,  Va. 

Sargent,  Martin,  Randolph,  Vt. 

WTilliams,  Theodore  J.,  Randolph,  Vt. 

W^oods,  Horace  S.,  Ontario,  Cal. 

W'right,  Allen,  Office  of  Paymaster  General,  War  De 
partment,  Washington,  D.  C. 

187 


WILLIAM  WELLS 

BRIGADIER  AND  BREVET  MAJOR-GENERAL 
UNITED  STATES  VOLUNTEERS 

1837-1892 


WILLIAM  WELLS  was  born  in  Waterbury, 
Vermont,  December  14,  1837.  He  was  of 
a  good  English  family,  being  the  seventh 
in  direct  descent  from  Hugh  Wells. 

Hugh  Wells  was  born,  about  1590,  in  the  county  of 
Essex,  England.  He  was  married  in  1619,  and  emi 
grated  to  America  in  1635.  He  remained  in  Boston 
for  a  time,  and  subsequently  aided  in  founding  a 
colony  in  Hartford,  Connecticut.  He  died  in  Wethers- 
field,  Connecticut,  in  1645. 

Thomas  Wells,  the  first  child  of  Hugh  Wells,  was 
born  in  Colchester,  England,  in  1620,  and  was  taken 
with  his  parents,  in  1635,  to  America.  In  1651  he 
married  Mary  Beardsley,  of  Wethersfield,  Connecticut, 
daughter  of  William  Beardsley,  of  England.  In  1659 
he  went  to  Hadley,  and  lived  there  until  his  death,  in 
1676. 

Ebenezer  Wells,  eleventh  child  of  Thomas  Wells, 
was  born  at  Hadley,  Massachusetts,  July  4,  1668,  and 
died  at  Hatfield,  Massachusetts.  His  second  child, 
Dr.  Thomas  Wells,  was  born  at  Greenfield,  Massachu 
setts,  September  25,  1693,  and  died  at  Deerfield,  Mas 
sachusetts,  March  7,  1745.  The  third  child  of  Dr. 
Wells,  Joseph  Wells,  born  in  Deerfield,  Massachusetts, 
October  8,  1731,  died  at  Greenfield,  December  22,  1804. 
The  fifth  child  of  Joseph,  Roswell  Wells,  was  born  in 
Greenfield,  Massachusetts,  September  9,  1769,  and  in 
1805  moved  to  Waterbury,  where  he  died  July  26,  1826, 
aged  fifty-seven  years.  His  wife  was  Pamelia  White,  a 

192 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

descendant  of  Peregrine  White,  the  first  white  child 
of  civilized  parentage  born  in  New  England.  Of  this 
marriage  were  born  two  children,  William  Wellington 
and  Roswell  Wells. 

The  Honorable  William  Wellington  Wells  was  born 
in  Waterbury,  October  28,  1805,  and  died  at  the  same 
place  April  9,  1869.  He  was  a  man  of  liberal  educa 
tion,  excellent  business  qualifications,  and  sterling  char 
acter.  He  was  graduated  from  the  University  of  Ver 
mont  in  1824,  and  studied  law  in  the  office  of  Charles 
Adams,  Esq.,  in  Burlington.  He  was  admitted  to 
practice  at  the  Chittenden  County  Bar,  but  before  he 
began  the  practice  of  his  profession  (for  which  he  was 
thought  to  be  particularly  well  suited  both  by  nature 
and  education),  owing  to  the  death  of  his  father,  he 
was  obliged  to  return  to  Waterbury  and  administer 
the  estate  of  the  deceased.  He  soon  became  so  much 
interested  in  business  pursuits  that  he  abandoned  the 
idea  of  a  professional  life  and  identified  himself  with 
the  interests  of  both  his  family  and  his  town,  and  was 
numbered  among  the  most  successful  men  of  affairs 
in  the  State. 

Mr.  Wells  represented  Waterbury  in  the  Legislature 
in  1840,  1863,  and  1864,  where  he  took  an  active  part 
in  legislative  matters.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Eleventh  Council  of  Censors  in  1855,  and  town  treas 
urer  and  selectman  several  years. 

He  was  deeply  interested  in  the  welfare  of  his  coun 
try,  and  when  the  Rebellion  broke  out,  and  during  its 
continuance,  he  gave  himself  almost  entirely  to  his 
country's  service  with  an  enthusiasm  and  hopefulness 
that  was  an  inspiration  to  all  around  him.  As  chair- 

193 


HONORABLE  WILLIAM  WELLINGTON  WELLS 
Father  of  General  Wells 


MRS.  ELIZA  CARPENTER  WELLS 
Mother  of  General  Wells 


SEVEN  SONS  AND  DAUGHTER  OF  MR.   AND  MRS.   WILLIAM  WELLINGTON  WELLS,   3872 

Curtis  Wells,  Edward  Wells,  William  Wells,  Henry  Wells 
Roswell  White  Wells,  Charles  Wells,  Sarah  Carpenter  Wells  Brock,  Frederick  Howard  Wells 


FOUR  GENERATIONS  OF  THE  WELLS  FAMILY 

Mrs.  Curtis  Wells  and  Son  Karl  C.  Mrs.  William  Wellington  Wells 

Mrs.  Dan  Carpenter  Mr.  Curtis  Wells 


WELLS  FAMILY  REUNION,   1876 


mmmm 
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•III 

•••I 

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WELLS  FAMILY  REUNION,   1876 


WELLS  FAMILY  REUNION,   1876 


WELLS  HOMESTEAD,  WATERBURY,  VERMONT 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

man  of  the  board  of  selectmen  during  the  greater 
part,  if  not  the  whole,  of  the  war,  he  was  the  strongest 
among  the  strong.  There  was  no  call  for  soldiers  that 
was  not  promptly  filled.*  He  fully  believed  that  it  was 
for  the  town's  best  interest  to  "pay  as  it  went,"  so  that 
Waterbury  was  subsequently  free  from  debt  at  the 
close  of  the  war. 

Mr.  Wells  lived  in  the  faith  that  work  was  honorable, 
and  his  whole  life  conformed  to  his  faith;  his  boys,  too, 
having  been  reared  in  this  faith,  have  cheerfully  and 
faithfully  followed  him  in  faith  and  practice. 

Mr.  Wrells  was  married  to  Miss  Eliza  Carpenter, 
second  daughter  of  Judge  Dan  Carpenter,  January  13, 
1831.  This  choice  of  a  wife  was  a  most  fortunate  one 
for  him,  as  his  subsequent  life  demonstrated.  They 
buried  two  children  in  infancy,  but  reared  seven  sons 
and  one  daughter.  Roswell  W^hite  Wells  was  born 
November  14,  1833,  died  February  4,  1883.  Edward 
W7ells,  born  October  30,  1835,  died  February  19,  1907. 
William  Wells,  born  December  14,  1837,  died  April  29, 
1892.  Curtis  WTells,  born  February  1,  1840,  died 
March  16,  1898.  Charles  Wells,  born  June  22,  1845. 
Sarah  Carpenter  WTells,  born  June  22,  1845.  Henry 
Wells,  born  February  15,  1848,  died  January  7,  1911. 
Frederick  Howard,  born  September  27,  1851.  Mrs. 
Wells  survived  her  husband  four  years  and  died  August 
5,  1873. 

Four  of  the  sons,  Edward,  William,  Curtis,  and 
Charles,  served  in  the  Union  Army. 

William  Wrells  began  his  education  in  the  common 


*Mr.  Wells   joined  a   company  in  Randolph  in  the  fall  of  1862  and  drilled 
for  two  weeks,  but  was  not  accepted  on  account  of  eyesight  and  over-age. 

199 


IN  AFFECTIONATE  MEMORY  OF 

schools  of  his  native  town,  and  mastered  the  higher 
branches  in  Barre,  Vermont  Academy,  and  Kimball 
Union  Academy,  Meriden,  New  Hampshire.  While  in 
Barre  he  performed  a  remarkable  piece  of  work,  using 
an  odometer  in  surveying  for  a  county  map  of  Cale 
donia  County,  a  task  which  occupied  him  for  two 
months  in  his  seventeenth  year.  From  the  age  of 
nineteen  until  the  spring  of  1861  he  was  his  father's 
assistant  in  his  extensive  business.  After  the  out 
break  of  the  Rebellion  he,  with  three  of  his  brothers, 
became  a  soldier  of  the  army  of  the  Union. 

September  9,  1861,  at  the  age  of  twenty-three,  he 
enlisted  as  a  private  soldier,  and  as 
sisted  in  raising  Company  C,  First 
Regiment, Vermont  Cavalry;  was  sworn 
into  the  United  States  service  October 
3,  1861;  was  commissioned  First  Lieu 
tenant  October  14,  1861,  and  Captain 
November  18,  1861;  mustered  Novem- 
ber  19,  1861,  with  the  Field  and  Staff 
of  the  First  Regiment,  Vermont  Cav 
alry,  to  serve  for  three  years.  He  was  commissioned 
Major  December  30,  1862  and  was  mustered  the  same 
date.  Through  the  recommendation  of  all  the  officers 
of  his  regiment  he  was  commissioned  Colonel  June  4, 

1864,  and  mustered  July  2,  1864.      He  was  appointed 
Brevet    Brigadier-General  of  Volunteers  February  22, 

1865,  and    Brevet    Major-General,    "for   gallant    and 
meritorious  service,"  March  13,  1865.     In  recognition 
of  his   brilliant   services,   and  upon  the  recommenda 
tions  of  General  Sheridan  and  General  Custer,  he  was 
commissioned  Brigadier-General  May  19,  1865,  having 

200 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

received   more   promotions   than   any   other  Vermont 
officer  during  the  war. 

He  was  placed  in  command  of  the  Seventh  Regiment, 
Michigan  Cavalry,  March  2,  1864,  by  order  of  General 
Judson  Kilpatrick,  while  near  Richmond,  Virginia,  on 
what  is  known  as  Kilpatrick's  Raid,  and  continued  in 
command  of  the  regiment  for  several  weeks.  He  was 
in  command  of  his  regiment  from  June  4,  1864,  as 
Major  on  Wilson's  raid  south  of  Richmond.  He  was 
in  command  of  this  regiment  from  date  of  muster  as 
Colonel  until  September  19,  1864,  at  which  date  he 
assumed  command  of  the  Second  Brigade,  Third  Divi 
sion  Cavalry  Corps,  Army  of  the  Potomac.  He  com 
manded  this  brigade  at  the  surrender  of  the  Army  of 
Northern  Virginia,  at  Appomattox,  Virginia,  April  9, 
1865,  and  until  May  22,  1865,  when  he  assumed  com 
mand  of  the  Third  Cavalry  Division.  From  September 
19,  1864,  to  April  9,  1865,  he  was  several  times  in 
command  of  the  Third  Cavalry  Division.  The  de 
parture  of  Sheridan  and  Custer  for  Texas  left  him  as 
the  ranking  officer  of  the  cavalry  corps,  which  he  com 
manded  from  June  1  to  June  24,  1865.  He  was  the 
last  commander  of  General  Sheridan's  Corps.  He  was 
in  command  of  the  First  Separate  Brigade,  Twenty- 
second  Army  Corps,  from  June  24,  1865,  to  July  24, 

1865.  He  was  mustered  out  of  the  service  January  15, 

1866,  by  General  Order  168,  War  Department,  Wash 
ington,  D.  C.,  dated  December  28,  1865. 

He  distinguished  himself  repeatedly  in  action.  He 
was  in  the  thickest  of  the  fight  at  Orange  Court  House, 
Virginia,  August  2,  1862,  and  commanded  the  Second 
Battalion,  First  Vermont  Cavalry,  in  the  repulse  of 

201 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

Stuart's  Cavalry  at  Hanover,  Pennsylvania,  June  30, 
1863.  In  the  famous  and  desperate  cavalry  charge 
on  Round  Top,  Gettysburg,  July  3,  1863,  he  com 
manded  the  leading  battalion,  rode  by  the  side  of 
General  Farnsworth,  the  brigade  commander,  and,  al 
most  by  miracle,  came  out  unharmed,  while  his  com 
mander  fell  in  the  midst  of  the  enemy's  infantry.  This 
charge  penetrated  the  enemy's  lines  for  about  three 
quarters  of  a  mile.  A  few  days  later,  in  the  savage 
cavalry  melee  at  Boonsboro,  Maryland,  he  was  wounded 
by  a  sabre  cut.  At  Culpeper  Court  House,  Virginia, 
September  13,  1863,  he  charged  the  enemy's  artillery 
with  his  regiment  and  captured  a  gun,  and  was  again 
wounded  by  a  shell.  He  was  a  prisoner  of  war  in 
Libby  Prison,  Richmond,  Virginia,  from  March  17, 
1863,  to  about  May  6,  1863. 

He  commanded  a  battalion  in  Sheridan's  Cavalry 
Corps  at  the  battle  of  Yellow  Tavern,  Virginia,  May 
11,  1864,  in  which  General  Stuart,  the  greatest  Con 
federate  cavalry  general,  was  killed.  In  the  cavalry 
fight  at  Tom's  Brook,  Virginia,  October  9,  1864, 
General  Wells  commanded  a  brigade  of  Custer's  Di 
vision;  and  at  Cedar  Creek,  October  19,  1864,  his 
brigade  took  a  foremost  part  in  turning  the  rout  of 
the  morning  into  a  decisive  victory  at  nightfall,  cap 
turing  forty-five  of  the  forty-eight  pieces  of  artillery 
taken  from  Early 's  fleeing  army,  the  First  Vermont 
capturing  twenty-three  of  these,  the  heaviest  capture 
ever  made  by  one  regiment  in  the  war.  Major  W7ells 
served  under  Generals  Kilpatrick,  Sheridan,  and  Cus- 
ter,  and  was  with  Kilpatrick  in  his  famous  raid  on 
Richmond,  and  with  General  Wilson  in  his  daring 


WILLIAM  WELLS,   1859  CAPTAIN  WILLIAM  WELLS,  November,  1861 

BRIGADIER-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS,   1865 
MAJOR  WILLIAM  WELLS,   1862  COLONEL  WILLIAM  WELLS,   1864 


BREVET  MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS,  1865  GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS,  1874 


MAJOR  WELLS  AND  ASSISTANT  SURGEON  EDSON,  1862 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

foray  to  the  south  of  that  city.  At  Appomattox,  on 
the  morning  of  the  surrender  of  the  Army  of  Northern 
Virginia,  his  brigade  had  started  on  its  last  charge 
and  was  stopped  by  General  Custer  in  person. 

At  the  grand  review  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  in 
Washington  City,  May  22,  1865,  he  commanded  the 
Second  Brigade  of  Custer's  Division  of  the  Cavalry 
Corps,  which  led  the  advance.  A  medal  of  honor  was 
awarded  General  Wells  by  Congress  "for  distinguished 
gallantry  at  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  July  3,  1863." 

During  his  services  with  the  First  Regiment  Cavalry 
he  took  part  in  the  following  battles  and  skirmishes: 
Middletown,  Winchester,  Luray  Court  House,  Cul- 
peper  Court  House,  Orange  Court  House,  Kelley's 
Ford,  Waterloo  Bridge,  Bull  Run,  Warrenton,  Hanover, 
Hunterstown,  Gettysburg,  Monterey,  Leitersville,  Ha- 
gerstown,  Boonsboro,  Hagerstown,  Falling  Waters,  Port 
Conway,  Port  Conway,  Culpeper  Court  House,  Somer- 
ville  Ford,  Raccoon  Ford,  James  City,  Brandy  Sta 
tion,  Gainesville,  Buckland  Mills,  Falmouth,  Morton's 
Ford,  Mechanics ville,  Piping  Tree,  Craig's  Meet 
ing  House,  Spottsylvania,  Yellow  Tavern,  Meadow 
Bridge,  Hanover  Court  House,  Ashland,  Hawe's  Shop, 
Bottom  Bridge,  White  Oak  Swamp,  Riddle's  Shop,  Mal- 
vern  Hill,  Ream's  Station,  Nottoway  Court  House, 
Roanoke  Station,  Stony  Creek,  Ream's  Station, 
Winchester,  Summit  Point,  Charlestown,  W.  Va., 
Kearneysville,  and  Opequan  or  Winchester. 

As  Brigade  and  Division  Commander  he  participated 
in  the  following  battles  and  skirmishes:  Opequan, 
Front  Royal,  Gooney  Manor  Grade,  Milford,  Waynes- 
boro,  Columbia  Furnace,  Toms  Brook,  Cedar  Creek, 

205 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

Cedar  Creek,  Middle  Road,  Middle  and  Back  Road 
or  Middletown,  Lacey's  Springs,  Waynesboro,  Five 
Forks,  Scott's  Corners,  Namozine  Creek,  Winticomack, 
Appomattox  Station  and  Appomattox  Court  House. 

His  military  career  may  be  summarized  by  saying 
that  he  participated  in  seventy  cavalry  engagements, 
in  eighteen  of  which  he  led  a  brigade  or  division,  and 
his  service  in  the  field  was  continuous  from  the  date 
of  his  muster-in  until  the  close  of  the  war.  January 
15,  1866,  he  was  honorably  mustered  out  of  the  United 
States  service,  having  been  held  in  useful  service  for 
eight  months  after  the  war  ended,  a  fine  testimonial  to 
his  soldierly  ability.  The  official  record  speaks  for 
itself,  and  General  Wells's  military  career  throughout 
four  years  and  a  half  in  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  evinces 
the  highest  personal  qualities  of  a  cavalry  commander, 
combining  coolness,  promptness,  and  daring  intrepidity 
with  most  thoughtful  consideration  for  his  men. 

General  Wells  was  married,  January  18,  1866,  to 
Miss  Arahanna  Richardson,  who  was  born  July  20, 
1845,  in  Fitchburg,  Massachusetts.  To  them  were 
born  two  children,  Frank  Richardson  and  Bertha 
Richardson.  Frank  Richardson  Wells  was  born,  Feb 
ruary  1,  1871,  in  Burlington,  Vermont,  and  was  mar 
ried,  in  California,  November  7,  1900,  to  Miss  Jean 
Mary  Hush,  of  Oakland,  California.  Bertha  Richard 
son  Wells  was  born  April  23,  1873,  and  was  mar 
ried  in  Burlington,  Vermont,  July  6,  1899,  to  Dr. 
Horatio  Nelson  Jackson,  of  Burlington,  Vermont. 
Mrs.  Wells  died  suddenly  in  Burlington,  Vermont, 
June  12,  1905. 

Soon  after  General  Wells's  return  to  civil  life  he 

206 


MRS.  WILLIAM  WELLS 
(Arahanna  Richardson),  1850 

MRS.  WILLIAM  WELLS 
(Arahanna  Richardson),  1861 


MRS.  WILLIAM  WELLS 
(Arahanna  Richardson),  1860 

MRS.  WILLIAM  WELLS 
(Arahanna  Richardson),  1862 


MRS.  WILLIAM  WELLS 
(Arahanna  Richardson),  1899 

MRS.  WILLIAM  WELLS 
(Arahanna  Richardson),  1899 


MRS.  WILLIAM  WELLS 
(Arahanna  Richardson),  1862 

MRS.  WTILLIAM  WELLS 
(Arahanna  Richardson),  1882 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

became  a  partner  in  a  firm  of  wholesale  druggists  at 
Waterbury.  In  1868  they  transferred  this  business  to 
Burlington,  which  was  thereafter  his  residence.  He 
represented  the  town  of  WTaterbury  in  the  Legislature 
of  1865-66,  being  chairman  of  the  military  committee 
and  an  influential  legislator.  In  1866  he  was  elected 
Adjutant-General  of  Vermont,  and  held  the  office 
until  1872,  when  he  was  appointed  Collector  of  Cus 
toms  for  the  District  of  Vermont,  a  position  which  he 

ft, 


RESIDENCE  OF  GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS,   1877 

filled  with  efficiency  and  credit  for  thirteen  years.  The 
Burlington  Free  Press  of  that  year,  in  speaking  of  his 
appointment  as  Collector  of  Customs,  said:  "For  sev 
eral  years  past  General  Wrells  has  been  a  resident  of 
this  city,  Burlington,  and  a  member  of  the  firm  of 
Henry  &  Co.,  wholesale  drug  merchants.  His  personal 
standing  is  high,  as  a  man  of  integrity,  good  sense, 
correct  habits,  and  unblemished  character,  and  his 

209 


IN  AFFECTIONATE  MEMORY  OF 

appointment  will  be  generally  accepted  throughout 
the  State  as  one  eminently  'fit  to  be  made.'  :  At  the 
end  of  that  time  he  resumed  his  active  connection  with 
the  business  house  known  the  world  over  as  the  Wells 
&  Richardson  Company. 

In  1886  he  was  State  Senator  from  the  county  of 
Chittenden.  He  was  active  in  veteran  soldiers'  soci- 
ties,  was  one  of  the  presidents  of  the  Reunion  Society 
of  Vermont  Officers,  and  president  of  the  Society 
of  the  First  Vermont  Cavalry.  He  was  one  of 
the  trustees,  and  first  president  of  the  Vermont  Sol 
diers'  Home,  and  was  a  member  of  the  Gettysburg 
Commission  in  1889-90.  He  was  the  first  commander 
of  the  Vermont  Commandery  of  the  Loyal  Legion, 
and  would  have  been  re-elected  had  he  lived  until  the 
coming  annual  meeting  of  the  Commandery.  He  was 
a  member  of  Stannard  Post  No.  2,  G.  A.  R.,  Depart 
ment  of  Vermont,  and  would  have  been  made  depart 
ment  commander  had  he  been  willing  to  accept  the 
election.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Vermont  Society 
of  Sons  of  the  American  Revolution. 

General  Wells  was  identified  with  many  important 
business  enterprises  in  the  city,  being  president  of  the 
Burlington  Trust  Company,  president  of  the  Burling 
ton  Gas-Light  Company,  president  of  the  Burlington 
Board  of  Trade,  director  in  the  Burlington  Cold  Storage 
Company,  director  in  the  Rutland  Railroad  Company, 
and  director  in  the  Champlain  Transportation  Com 
pany.  He  was  a  member  and  a  vestryman  of  Saint 
Paul's  Church,  was  one  of  the  trustees  of  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  of  Burlington,  and  one  of 
its  liberal  supporters.  Few  men  touched  the  life  of  the 

210 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

community  in  which  he  lived  in  so  many  important 
capacities. 

His  sudden  death  from  angina  pectoris,  in  New  York 
City,  April  29,  1892,  removed,while  in  the  prime  of  life, 
a  most  genial,  courteous,  and  kind-hearted  man,  a 
gallant  soldier,  and  one  of  the  most  respected  citizens 
of  the  Green  Mountain  State.  He  was  buried  in 
Lake  View  Cemetery,  at  Burlington,  Vermont,  where 
a  large  granite  boulder  marks  his  last  resting  place. 

General  Sheridan,  in  speaking  of  General  Wells,  said, 
"He  was  my  ideal  of  a  cavalry  officer." 


MEDALLIOX  PORTRAIT  OF  MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS  IN  STATE  CAPITOL 
AT  MONTPELIER,  VERMONT,  DEDICATED  OCTOBER  5,  1910 


DEDICATION 
OF  THE  STATUE  TO 

BREVET  MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 
AT  BATTERY  PARK,  BURLINGTON, 

VERMONT 
MAY  30,  1914 


STATUE  OF  MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS  AT  BATTERY  PARK,  BURLINGTON,  VERMONT, 
DEDICATED  MAY  30,  1914 


JOINT  RESOLUTION  RELATING  TO  MEDAL 
LION  PORTRAIT  OF  MAJOR-GENERAL 
WILLIAM  WELLS 

Resolved  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives: 

That  the  governor  be,  and  is  hereby,  authorized  to 
procure  and  place  in  the  State  capitol  a  bronze  tablet 
with  medallion  portrait  of  Brigadier  and  Brevet  Major- 
General  William  Wells,  who  enlisted  from  Waterbury, 
Vermont,  as  a  private  soldier  in  Company  C,  Eirst 
Regiment  Vermont  Cavalry,  September  9,  1861,  and 
W7as  sworn  into  the  State  service  in  said  Company 
October  3,  1861,  at  the  age  of  twenty -three  years; 
commissioned  first  lieutenant  October  14,  1861;  cap 
tain,  November  18,  1861;  mustered  into  the  United 
States  service  to  serve  for  three  years,  or  during  the 
war,  November  19,  1861;  promoted  major  October  30, 
1862;  colonel,  June  4,  1864;  appointed  brevet  brigadier- 
general  of  Volunteers  February  22,  1865,  and  brevet 
major-general  of  Volunteers  March  30,  1865,  both  for 
gallant  and  meritorious  conduct  in  the  field;  appointed 
bridadier-general  of  Volunteers  May  19,  1865.  Mus 
tered  out  of  the  United  States  service  January  15,  1866. 

(A  detailed  account  of  General  WTells'  service,  cover 
ing  a  period  of  almost  four  and  a  half  years,  may  be 
found  on  page  749  of  the  "Revised  Roster  of  Vermont 
Volunteers  in  the  War  of  the  Rebellion.") 

His  command  participated  in  seventy-six  battles  and 
skirmishes,  in  all  of  which  he  was  present  except  when 
a  prisoner  of  war  or  absent  and  wounded. 

General  Wells  distinguished  himself  on  many  occa 
sions,  but  especially  while  leading  his  battalion  in  the 
heroic  charge  against  Confederate  infantry  on  Round 

217 


IN  AFFECTIONATE  MEMORY  OF 

Top,  Gettysburg,  July  3,  1863,  for  which  he  received 
the  Congressional  medal  of  honor.  He  also  won  dis 
tinction  in  the  charge  of  his  brigade  at  Cedar  Creek, 
Virginia,  October  19,  1864,  when  they  captured  one 
hundred  and  sixty -one  prisoners,  including  one  general, 
one  colonel,  one  lieutenant-colonel,  three  battle  flags, 
twenty-three  pieces  of  artillery,  fourteen  caissons, 
twenty -three  \vagons,  one  hundred  and  fifty-eight  sets 
of  harness,  ninety -eight  horses  and  sixty-eight  mules, 
this  being  the  largest  capture  on  record  of  any  regi 
ment  in  the  war  for  the  Union.  Finally,  at  Appomat- 
tox,  Virginia,  April  9,  1865,  when  his  command  was 
attacked  by  Lee's  army  shortly  before  his  surrender 
he  bore  the  brunt  of  the  assault  until  the  infantry 
formation  was  completed,  and  which  resulted  in  the 
surrender  of  the  army  of  Northern  Virginia. 

No  cavalry  officer  stood  higher  with  General  Sheri 
dan  or  General  Custer  than  did  General  Wells,  who 
was  a  born  cavalry  leader  with  a  wonderful  war  record, 
whose  gallant,  distinguished,  and  patriotic  services  re 
flect  lasting  honor  upon  the  State  of  Vermont. 

Resolved,  That  the  State  auditor  is  hereby  directed 
to  draw  his  order  on  the  State  treasurer  in  favor  of  the 
governor  for  any  monies  expended  or  required  to  be 
expended  in  complying  with  the  foregoing  directions 
in  respect  of  the  tablet  in  question. 

THOMAS  C.  CHENEY, 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 

JOHN  A.  MEAD, 
President  of  the  Senate. 
Approved  December  2,  1908. 

GEORGE  H.   PROUTY,  Governor. 

218 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

As  Burlington  was  so  long  the  home  of  General 
Wells,  it  is  but  fitting  that  Battery  Park,  one  of  its 
most  historic  places,  overlooking  Lake  Champlain  and 
within  a  short  distance  of  the  Old  Fair  Grounds,  which 
was  the  rendezvous  of  the  First  Vermont  Cavalry  and 
many  other  regiments  from  this  State  before  leaving 
for  the  war,  should  be  the  site  of  a  monument  to  his 
valor  and  that  of  the  regiment  he  so  nobly  commanded, 
and  in  this  memorial  is  signalized  not  only  the  true 
patriotism  of  those  defenders  of  our  flag,  but  an  act  of 
filial  devotion  on  the  part  of  the  donor,  Frank  Richard 
son  Wells,  the  only  son  of  General  Wells,  it  being  a 
gift  from  him  to  the  city  of  Burlington  in  honor  of  his 
father  and  of  the  First  Regiment  Vermont  Cavalry. 

The  base  of  the  monument  is  of  Barre  granite,  eight 
feet  square  at  the  bottom  and  seven  feet  three  inches 
in  height.  On  the  front  is  a  bronze  tablet  giving  the 
record  of  General  W7ells,  and  on  the  reverse,  facing  in 
the  direction  of  the  Old  Fair  Ground,  is  the  bas-relief, 
depicting  the  charge  made  at  Gettysburg.  Surmount 
ing  the  whole  is  a  bronze  statue  of  General  Wells,  a 
reproduction  of  the  one  erected  by  the  State  upon  the 
battlefield  of  Gettysburg,  July  3,  1913. 

Under  a  cloudless  sky,  and  amid  a  large  gathering  of 
friends,  veterans,  representative  citizens,  members  of 
various  patriotic  organizations,  the  Second  United 
States  Cavalry,  detachment  of  the  Vermont  National 
Guard,  Students'  Battalion  of  the  University  of  Ver 
mont,  and  the  Boy  Scouts,  its  unveiling  and  dedication 
to  the  city  took  place  May  30,  1914,  the  occasion  being 
a  noteworthy  feature  of  Memorial  Day.  The  exercises 
opened  with  the  sounding  of  "assembly"  by  George  D. 


IN  AFFECTIONATE  MEMORY  OF 

Sherman,  of  Company  II,  Ninth  Vermont,  followed  by 
a  formal  salute  to  the  dead  by  the  veterans  of  Stannard 
Post  and  prayer  by  the  Rev.  John  E.  Goodrich,  chap- 
lian  of  the  First  Vermont  Cavalry. 

While  the  band  played  "The  Star  Spangled  Banner" 
the  statue  was  unveiled  by  Mrs.  James  W.  Brock, 
sister,  and  Mrs.  H.  Nelson  Jackson,  daughter,  of 
General  Wells,  assisted  by  his  two  surviving  brothers, 
Mr.  Charles  Wells  and  Mr.  Frederick  H.  Wells,  and 
his  son-in-law,  Dr.  H.  Nelson  Jackson,  the  members 
of  the  First  Vermont  Cavalry  acting  as  escort. 

It  was  an  impressive  sight  as  the  heroic  bronze  figure 
was  revealed,  with  the  gray -haired  veterans  of  the  First 
Vermont  Cavalry  grouped  around  the  base  and  the 
members  of  the  Wells  family  and  Dr.  P.  O'M.  Edson, 
the  assistant  surgeon  of  the  regiment,  in  the  foreground, 
and  the  cheers  that  arose  from  the  surrounding  audience 
testified  to  their  admiration  and  appreciation  of  both 
the  beautiful  and  the  patriotic. 

Mr.  Wells  then  formally  presented  to  Mayor  James 
E.  Burke,  as  the  city's  representative,  the  deed  trans 
ferring  the  title  of  the  monument  to  the  people  of 
Burlington,  and  said: 

"Mr.  Commander,  your  honor  the  mayor,  my  father's 
comrades,  and  friends:  For  years  it  had  been  my 
mother's  wish  and  mine  to  have  a  statue  of  my  father 
in  Burlington,  and  now  that  that  wish  has  come  true 
I  am  indeed  happy. 

"The  First  Vermont  Cavalry  is  a  regiment  whose 
record  has  never  been  surpassed.  General  Sheridan 
told  a  friend  of  mine  that  when,  as  commander  of  the 
cavalry  corps,  he  needed  a  regiment  on  whose  valor, 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

fidelity,  and  stubborn  fighting  he  could  always  rely,  he 
called  for  the  First  Vermont  Cavalry. 

"It  gives  me  great  pleasure,  therefore,  to  honor  the 
First  Vermont  Cavalry  by  placing  on  this  pedestal  the 
bas-relief  of  the  charge  which  father  led  at  Gettysburg; 
and  it  is  my  hope  that  this  statue  and  bas-relief  may 
remind  future  generations  that  Vermont  raised  men 
who  dared  do  even  more  desperate  deeds  than  that 
famous  charge  of  the  Light  Brigade  at  Balaclava. 

"It  is  a  great  pleasure  to  present  you,  the  mayor  of 
the  city  of  Burlington,  this  deed  of  gift." 

In  behalf  of  the  city  Mayor  Burke  accepted  the  gift, 
and  thanked  the  donor  for  his  generosity  and  the 
spirit  which  prompted  the  erection  of  so  lasting  and 
appropriate  a  tribute  to  one  of  Vermont's  most  gallant 
commanders  in  the  war  for  the  Union  and  the  men  who 
followed  him. 

After  music  by  the  Second  United  States  Cavalry 
band,  the  exercises  were  continued  by  Stannard  Post, 
G.  A.  R.,  with  the  address  of  the  day  by  Rev.  I.  C. 
Smart,  D.  D.,  of  Burlington,  and  closed  with  the  sing 
ing  of  "America,"  the  benediction,  and  the  sounding  of 
"Taps." 

Whereas,  Frank  Richardson  Wells,  the  son  of  Major- 
General  William  Wells,  has  placed  upon  the  monu 
ment  erected  in  honor  of  his  father  in  Battery  Park, 
Burlington,  a  bronze  relief  panel  depicting  the  des 
perate  charge  made  by  the  First  Regiment  Vermont 
Cavalry  and  its  gallant  Commander,  the  said  General 
Wells,  at  Gettysburg  on  the  afternoon  of  July  3,  1863; 
therefore,  be  it 

221 


IN  AFFECTIONATE  MEMORY  OF 

Resolved,  That  we,  the  members  of  the  Regiment 
here  assembled,  do  most  deeply  appreciate  the  honor 
conferred  upon  us  by  Mr.  Wells  in  thus  perpetuating 
the  memory  of  our  distinguished  Commander  and  of 
the  First  Vermont  Cavalry. 

Resolved,  That  is  this  beautiful  monument,  standing 
near  the  earthworks  and  cannon  commemorative  of 
the  War  of  1812,  and  near  the  Old  Fair  Ground,  where 
the  Regiment  rendezvoused  before  it  left  Vermont  for 
front  on  the  14th  of  December,  1861,  the  youth  of  our 
city  and  State  will  have  a  lasting  object  lesson  in  true 
patriotism,  unflinching  courage,  and  soldierly  obedience, 
and  a  memorial  of  the  valor  of  those  sons  of  Vermont, 
who  on  that  day  paid  to  their  country  the  uttermost 
tribute  of  devotion. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  these  Resolutions  be  given 
to  Mr.  Frank  Richardson  Wells,  to  the  First  Vermont 
Cavalry  Regimental  Association,  and  to  the  press. 

Passed  by  the  survivors  of  the  First  Regiment 
Vermont  Cavalry  at  Burlington,  Vermont,  May 
30,  1914. 

Whereas,  Frank  Richardson  Wells,  a  Companion  of 
the  Vermont  Commandery,  Military  Order  of  the 
Loyal  Legion  of  the  United  States,  has  given  to  the 
city  of  Burlington  a  replica  of  the  monument  erected 
July  3,  1913,  by  the  State  of  Vermont  on  the  battle 
field  of  Gettysburg  in  honor  of  his  distinguished  father, 
Major-General  William  Wells,  and  of  the  First  Regi 
ment  Vermont  Cavalry;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  we,  Companions  of  the  Vermont  Com 
mandery,  put  on  record  our  deep  appreciation  of  this 

222 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

generous  act  of  our  Companion  in  thus  perpetuating 
the  memory  of  one  who  was  a  charter  member  and  its 
first  Commander: 

Resolved,  That  we  regard  this  memorial  as  a  fitting 
tribute  to  the  valor  of  one  of  Vermont's  most  gallant 
officers  and  to  the  bravery  of  a  regiment  which  partici 
pated  in  seventy-six  battles  and  combats,  and  won  for 
itself  a  record  second  to  none  in  the  armies  of  the 
Union : 

Resolved,  That  we  regard  this  monument  as  a  per 
petual  educator  in  true  patriotism,  destined  to  teach 
successive  generations  of  our  youth  more  fervently  to 
love  and  more  faithfully  to  serve  their  country: 

Resolved,  That  these  Resolutions  be  spread  upon  the 
records  of  this  Commandery,  and  a  copy  sent  to  Mr. 
Wells  and  to  the  press. 

Passed  by  the  Vermont  Commandery,  Military 
Order  of  the  Loyal  Legion  of  the  United  States, 
at  its  annual  meeting,  May  12,  1914,  held  in 
Burlington,  Vermont. 

Whereas,  Frank  Richardson  Wells,  a  Companion  of 
the  Vermont  Commandery,  Military  Order  of  the 
Loyal  Legion  of  the  United  States,  and  a  member  also 
of  the  Sons  of  Veterans,  has  given  to  the  city  of  Bur 
lington  a  replica  of  the  monument  erected  July  3,  1913, 
by  the  State  of  Vermont  on  the  battlefield  of  Gettys 
burg  in  honor  of  his  distinguished  father,  Major- 
General  William  Wells,  and  of  the  First  Regiment 
Vermont  Cavalry;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  we,  Comrades  of  Stannard  Post  No.  2, 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  put  on  record  our  deep 


IN  AFFECTIONATE  MEMORY  OF 

appreciation  of  this  generous  act  of  our  townsman  in 
thus  perpetuating  the  memory  of  one  who  was  a  brave 
soldier  and  a  successful  general: 

Resolved,  That  we  regard  this  memorial  as  a  fitting 
tribute  to  the  valor  of  one  of  Vermont's  most  gallant 
officers  and  to  the  bravery  of  a  regiment  which  partici 
pated  in  seventy-six  battles  and  combats,  and  won  for 
itself  a  record  second  to  none  in  the  armies  of  the 
Union : 

Resolved,  That  we  regard  this  monument  as  a  per 
petual  educator  in  true  patriotism,  destined  to  teach 
successive  generations  of  our  youth  more  fervently  to 
love  and  more  faithfully  to  serve  their  country: 

Resolved,  That  these  Resolutions  be  spread  upon  the 
records  of  Stannard  Post,  and  a  copy  sent  to  Mr.  Wells 
and  to  the  press. 

Passed  by  Stannard  Post,  G.  A.  R.,  at  its  meet 
ing,  May  15,  1914. 

To  ALL  PERSONS  TO  WHOM  THESE  PRESENTS  SHALL 

COME,  GREETING: 

Whereas,  The  undersigned,  Frank  R.  Wells,  of  Bur 
lington,  in  the  County  of  Chittenden  and  State  of 
Vermont,  on  the  27th  day  of  April,  1914,  by  a  com 
munication  in  writing  under  that  date  addressed  to  the 
Mayor  and  Board  of  Aldermen  of  said  city,  did  propose 
to  erect  and  donate  to  said  city  a  bronze  statue  of  his 
late  father,  Brevet  Major-General  William  Wells,  to  be 
placed  upon  a  suitable  pedestal  of  Barre  granite,  with 
tablets  showing  among  other  things  the  subject  at  the 
head  of  his  command  leading  the  First  Vermont  Cav 
alry  charge  at  Gettysburg;  and, 

224 


LOT  OF  GENERAL   WILLIAM    WELLS,   LAKE   VIEW   CEMETKRY,  TURLINGTON,   VERMONT 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

Whereas,  In  said  communication  the  undersigned  in 
dicated  that  it  was  his  desire  to  have  said  statue  erected 
in  Battery  Park  owing  to  the  historic  and  military  asso 
ciation  connected  with  that  site  and  the  nearby  "Old 
Fair  Grounds,"  where  the  above-named  cavalry  was  in 
1861  mustered  into  service;  and 

Whereas,  The  undersigned  in  said  communication 
further  proposed  to  erect  said  statue,  pedestal,  foun 
dation,  and  tablets,  and  grade  the  grounds  about  the 
same  without  expense  to  said  city  upon  condition  that 
said  city  shall  from  time  to  time  keep  the  same  in  good 
repair  and  condition,  and  that  said  statue  shall  con 
tinue  to  occupy  the  site  in  Battery  Park  then  chosen  by 
said  city  and  the  undersigned ;  and 

Whereas,  Said  city  by  resolution  of  the  City  Council, 
approved  April  28,  1914,  and  recorded  in  volume  12, 
page  58,  of  the  records  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  did 
accept  said  proposition  and  monument  upon  the  terms 
stated  in  the  aforesaid  communication;  and 

Whereas,  Said  Frank  R.  Wells  has  heretofore  erected 
said  statue  in  pursuance  with  the  terms  of  said  com 
munication  and  resolutions;  and 

Whereas,  Said  city  hath  on  its  part  undertaken,  and 
doth  by  the  acceptance  of  this  deed  of  dedication 
undertake,  to  keep  the  same  in  good  repair  and  condi 
tion,  and  that  said  statue  shall  continue  to  occupy  the 
site  whereon  the  same  now  stands. 

Now,  therefore,  Be  it  known  that  I,  Frank  R.  Wells, 
in  consideration  of  the  aforesaid  undertakings  of  the 
grantee  and  other  good  and  valuable  considerations, 
have  dedicated,  remised,  released,  and  forever  quit 
claimed,  and  do  hereby  dedicate,  remise,  release,  and 

225 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  WELLS 

forever  quitclaim  unto  the  city  of  Burlington  aforesaid 
all  right  and  title  which  I,  the  said  Frank  R.  Wells, 
have  in  and  to  the  aforesaid  bronze  statue  of  my  late 
father,  Brevet  Major-General  William  W^ells,  with  the 
aforesaid  tablets,  pedestal,  and  foundation  now  stand 
ing  in  said  Battery  Park  in  said  city. 

To  Have  and  to  Hold  all  my  right  and  title  in  and  to 
said  statue,  tablets,  pedestal,  and  foundation  to  said 
city  of  Burlington,  to  its  own  proper  use,  benefit  and 
behoof  forever,  subject,  however,  to  the  aforesaid  stip 
ulations  and  conditions. 

In  Witness  Whereof,  I  hereunto  set  my  hand  and  seal 
this  29th  day  of  May,  A.  D.  1914. 

In  Presence  of 

(Signed)  J.  E.  CUSHMAN,  (Signed) 

(Signed)  FLORENCE  M.  MOORE.   FRANK  R.  WTELLS 

STATE  OF  VERMONT,          ) 
CHITTENDEN  COUNTY,      ) 

Personally  appeared  at  Burlington,  in  said  County, 
Frank  R.  Wrells,  the  signer  and  sealer  of  the  above- 
written  instrument,  and  acknowledged  the  same  to  be 
his  free  act  and  deed,  this  29th  day  of  May,  A.  D.  1914. 
Before  me, 

(Signed)  J.  E.  CUSHMAN, 

Master  in  Chancerv. 


399987 


-IY4-J3 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


